The plaque on my office door labels me as the pastor of "Faith's 100/Outreach". I am finding that this title is either extremely inaccurate or it is much broader than I ever imagined. The Faith's 100 responsibilities tend to vary greatly from day to day. They move from a slow steady pace to, "I need an answer that will change my life and my family's life forever, and I need the answer right now!". OK, that may be a slight exaggeration but at times it seems very accurate. The Outreach portion of my duties has a very large scope and includes a number of ministries. One of the dangers of "outreach" ministries is that there is sometimes the tendency to lean on programs and events to accomplish outreach goals. Now, let me say that I am not against programs. I see them as tools we can use to facilitate outreach to our community. Here at Faith we use the tools of Upward, AWANA, and FX, among others. One time events such as the Thanksgiving dinner, VBS, and the Christmas cantata are all legitimate and effective tools that we use to reach our community.
My prayer however, is that we not lose sight of something much more important regarding outreach. Outreach is not a program, but it is an expression of love. It is not something we go do and then schedule again for next week. It is a love for the souls in our community that flows from God's love for us expressed in His son Jesus Christ. I recently read an article that reminded me of this truth and the need to stay focused on Christ's love and not hide behind a program. I understand that all Christians are called to be active in evangelism yet not all Christians are equally gifted in this area. However, each of us, as believers is called to evangelize.
May our outreach, both individual and corporate, be an expression of Christ's love for us, and for the soul's of those in our community.
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