In our recent Building the Bridge Conference held on the Campgrounds, I was asked to share my district vision on evangelizing our state. Please allow me to share a few of the high points of that vision.
Mark records that Jesus told His disciples, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to EVERY creature”. (16:15)
God is serious about reaching the lost. His actions have demonstrated how serious He is about people being brought into the Kingdom of God. Our God took on the form of flesh, humbled Himself, took on the role of a servant, died on a cross, and shed His own blood to purchase the salvation of the souls of every lost person. God is serious about the salvation of the lost. When it was time to face the agony of the cross, the Bible says that Jesus “set His face” toward Jerusalem. Nothing was going to keep Him from carrying out His plan to redeem lost men and women.
Nothing in all the world means as much to Jesus as the salvation of the LOST.
Jesus told His disciples, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth”. (Acts 1:8)
He didn't say, “everybody who wants to sign up for this”. He didn't say, “every volunteer”.
He said, “you SHALL be witnesses”. He told them they were going to be witnesses and He told them where they were going to be witnesses.
The first seven chapters of the book of Acts is about growth, miracles, and reaching thousands of Jews in Jerusalem. They gave themselves completely to the work of God and they had great revival. The Bible says that new people were added to the church every day, initially, and then the church began to multiply.
The early Christians were taking the city of Jerusalem for Jesus Christ. One historian estimated that the Church of Jerusalem had 50,000 members. The population of Jerusalem was about 250,000. If this estimation is correct, nearly one out of every five residents was an Apostolic, Jesus Name Believer.
But there is something I want you to notice about the early church that we rarely ever talk about. God told them to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the rest of the world. However, the disciples decided to stop with Jerusalem. They weren't sending anybody outside the city limits of Jerusalem because that is where most of the JEWS were.
The disciples made up their minds that they would reach out to Jerusalem, but not any farther, because they were only committed to reaching people who looked like them (Jews). They did not fully obey the Great Commission and the command of Jesus.
Jesus had said, “GO, reach everyone”. But the disciples said “NO”.
So, something happens in Acts 8:1, “And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria…”. Why the persecution? God’s greatest concern for His church is that we are fulfilling the Great Commission.
The church in Jerusalem decided they were not going to take the gospel to the places that God intended the gospel to go, because those places had people in them who were not like them. They were willing to obey the commission, but not all the way.
The church in Jerusalem is an example of people who say, “I will go so far, but I won't go beyond the place where it’s too uncomfortable, or against my traditions, or reach out to people who aren’t like me”.
God sent the greatest persecution that came upon the church in Jerusalem to move His church out of their complacency, limited mindsets, and their unwillingness to take the gospel to EVERYONE.
The United States population consists of 60% White, 18% Hispanic, 12% Black, and 6% Asian. The UPCI in the United States is even more diverse than the demographics of our nation. The UPCI is 61% White, 19% Hispanic, 16% Black, 3% Asian. I am thankful for that.
Louisiana has the second highest percentage of black people in the United States, just behind Mississippi, yet we are one of the most segregated states within our church congregations. My eyes were really opened to this when I became Superintendent in 2021 and began to travel the state, preaching in our churches.
I believe it is God’s plan for His church to reflect the area where He has planted you.
In other words, you should reflect the demographics of your city. According to one research group, only 9% of church-goers are willing to drive more than 30 minutes to get to church.
- So, if you are in a metro area, that means your church should reflect the people you would find in about a three-to-five-mile radius of your church.
- If you are a rural church or very small town, your church should reflect the people who are in about a 10-to-12-mile radius of your church.
I understand Louisiana has some work to do to become more diverse in our churches, but if we are intentional in our evangelism, our leadership, our teaching/preaching, and our welcoming of EVERYONE, we will see our churches better reflect our communities.
Listen to the description of the church found in Rev. 7:9-10, “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of ALL NATIONS, and KINDREDS, and PEOPLE, and TONGUES, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb”.
If the church began as multicultural, and the church’s eternal picture is multicultural, then everything in between should be working to reflect a church which includes EVERYONE.
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MISSION LOUISIANA Report - $1,376,335 has been given to MISSION LOUISIANA! We are not far from our goal of $2,500,000, the estimated cost of our New Boys’ Dorm.
GENERAL CONFERENCE
General Conference 2024 will be held October 1-4 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California. The General Conference schedule can be found at upcigc.net/schedule. The seminar schedule is available at upcigc.net/seminars.