What do we call a church that is not winning souls? What is the best description we can give to churches that are not reaching out to the unreached peoples?
I have read the several vision and mission statements of many churches world all over. Some sound beautiful and grandiose. I have seen those whose core mandate is to raise wealthy men. While I am not in the position to judge that but I only want to use this medium to point everyone to the core mandate Christ gave the church before he left the earth. It is a mandate of "Go into the world and make disciples of all nations(different tribes)...". Without engaging in missions and evangelism, this mandate cannot be achieved.
The church of Christ all over the world have a common mandate- to spread the gospel to the lost.
The mandate is to win the lost and reach the unreached with the Gospel of Christ. The last command of Christ is for the church to go out of her comfort zone and break into new frontiers among those that are yet to hear the gospel not to steal sheep.
What some call evangelism today is sheep stealing. Why should you woo another believer out of his/her church to join yours? That is not soulwinning but sheep stealing. Even Satan and his minions won't do that in their kingdom. Most of the new additions in many churches today are from other churches not unsaved who are now saved. Is it in that church you met Christ? That's the litmus test to know If you are a victim of what I have described.
Satan has occupied the church with many things except a heart for the lost. One of the ways to know a dead church is their lukewarmness towards the unsaved and the unreached.
I read an article years back where it was said that over 70,000 people die daily without hearing about Christ. They cross into Christless eternity yet nothing moves us about those who will never see the beauty and glory of heaven. What about the over 7 000 tribes that are yet to hear the name Jesus?
I have been to countries, cities and towns where you'll walk or drive kilometres before seeing a church or a single Christian yet there are places where we have churches next door. I have seen one building with three churches on different floors. If we mean to win the world for Jesus, why multiply only within and not without?
The children of hell should not multiply in number where there are churches.
The church is here on earth to depopulate hell and populate the kingdom. Our budgets, programmes, conference meetings and how we do church must be missio-centric. God is deeply concerned about the lost than we may think. This is why the church is here.
