Now here’s the question for you …
To help churches assess the impact they are making on their communities, many church leaders are asking the question, “If this local church was suddenly removed from this community, would the community notice?”
It’s a great question for churches to ask. After all, reaching and serving the community for Christ is why the church is there.
But let’s refine the question a little. A church isn’t a building or a faceless, lifeless organization. It’s a fellowship of individual persons who come together to comprise God’s family where they are at. So, to sharpen the first question, each follower of Christ should ask:
“If I were removed from this local church, would my absence make any difference?”
In one sense, yes. Each Christian is a vital part of the body of Christ. No one can be “you” in the body. But, what are you bringing to the body? What are you contributing to the local church that would make your absence felt and missed? Are you connected in the fellowship of the local body and do you contribute to it?
Scotty
July 21, 2010 at 11:12 pm
Very good blog Scotty, Thanks for encouraging Christians to evaluate their commitment and service for the Lord!
While reading this though, I thought about the opposite response; the response of the lost world. If the church was taking away from this world; the entire body of Christ (Raptured), would the world miss us? I am beginning to thing not. I see our day and time as very perilous as Timothy said. I wonder just how much the world even knows we exist?
But as a Christian, our responsibility is to serve our Lord no matter what! Thanks for the challenge!
May God bless you in all you do for His Kingdom!
Paul
April 25, 2019 at 5:16 am
I think you are not asking the right question . There are 2 more should be asked:
If I was removed from this area, would light, love, justice and kingdom authority be gone because I bring Christ to people?
if this church was removed from this area, would the people mourn, would the city regret and lament its loss, would light be put out and darkness fill the void?
April 25, 2019 at 7:55 am
Obviously those things would be missing if real church was removed. This post isn’t about every possible question for church leaders and Christians to ask, it’s a narrow point about their presence being impactful. Thank you.
July 21, 2010 at 11:49 pm
Thank you Paul, and I agree with your comments. To become the church we need to be means each Christian becoming the child of God they can, and should be.
April 25, 2019 at 5:17 am
amen