Many churches claim to have a heart to reach the lost, the desire to see people come to faith in Christ … but the honest truth is that while those things may be true, God’s people would like to see them happen only so long as it does not cost them too much personally.  Truth is, if we want God to work through us then we will pay a price … sometimes it is in minor inconveniences and sometimes the price requires personal sacrifice. 

The slogan of the folks who founded Celebration was “whatever it takes” and they have demonstrated that heart many times and in many ways.  As I have said from the pulpit, while we are a young church there are more people with gray hair in the seats than what matches the music being played from the platform!  As one older gentleman told me … “Pastor, I don’t like this music and it is not what I would choose … but as long as people are getting saved then I can pt up with it!” Praise God for the heart, commitment and eternal priorities that this man lives out every Sunday.

You may hear that and think, “that’s a nice story,” ... but the reality is you like the music, the programs, etc and have to sacrifice very little to be a part of this fellowship. You need to know, all of us will be asked to pay a price to continue reaching people for Christ.  There will be different sacrifices needed.  Here are a few examples:

o       The comfort of talking about Jesus on our own terms … we will need to invite people to join us at Celebration but also make a priority of getting involved in our community and talk about Christ out there … where the people who need to hear about Him are living.

o       There is the messiness of the lives of people we will reach.  Loving lost people means loving them enough to get involved in their lives and helping them work through some of the life issues and bad habits they have developed over years of living without Christ in their life!

o       There will be the call to give financially – to support the ongoing ministry we enjoy as well as what will be needed to expand our staff, facilities, ministries so we can adequately care for the people who come to Christ.

o       There will be the need to find your place of service to the church family … signing up for a regular shift in childcare, teaching AWANA, helping organize FAB, being a care leader for your Connection Group, working with the teenagers, working in the parking lot on Sunday mornings, etc. More new people means more of the regular attenders need to roll up their sleeves and help care for these folks.

o       There will that call of God to do something wayyyy out of your comfort zone … “Teach? Me? You’ve go to be kidding?!” … “Fly to where … go on a mission trip? ... get involved in that ministry where you can smell the people I talk to … WITNESS?! … “God, you want us to give HOW much to the Capital Campaign?”  We will all have to walk by faith and obey what God calls us to do.

o       There will be the need to give up some things in order to care for those we want to reach.  Whether that involves convenient parking, our familiar seat in worship, helping start a new service, dealing with the music selection, etc.

o       There will be the loss of some in our church who leave because they don’t agree with our focus on reaching unchurched people – and they may be the same people who have been giving generously. It is hard to say good bye to people we love and it will be tempting to make changes just to keep them happy and on board.

o       There will be the disproportionately high amount of need that the people who have recently come to Christ require.  They will need a lot of time, attention and even finances … and it won’t be “fair.”

o       There will be times when the people we reach for Christ will curse in the worship center, dress inappropriately, “fall off the wagon,” have offensive body art, smoke at church events, and attend worship smelling like beer … and we will keep on loving them!

o       There will be changes in the way we operate … how you reserve a room, get something on the calendar, advertising your ministry project, get time with a staff member, etc.  These things will continually change, requiring everyone to adjust so we can all use our resources more efficiently and stay focused on reaching people for Christ.

Many people say they want to be part of a church that reaches lost people, my question is:

Most Christians and churches aren’t.   How about you?