Find out more about “Find it Here!” It’s coming up soon church!
Did you ever wonder what ministry in the early church looked like? In the book of Acts, a vivid picture emerges that should shape and define how the church engages the world today. We get very specific details about how the church ministered to its various communities in many different places. For example, in Acts 5:42, we read of the apostle’s ministry in the early church and are told that,
Every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
In yet another place, the apostle Paul summarizes his blessed ministry among the Ephesians when he says to the Elders at Ephesus,
I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:20-21)
And in the text which has become the quintessential descriptive text for what ministry looked like in the early church, we read in Acts 2:42-47 that when the early believers in Jerusalem dedicated themselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and the prayers, they were compelled to move out of the church and into the city. There, in the city, signs and wonders were performed and great displays of mercy and sharing were observed. There was fellowship, praise, and evangelism which resulted in the salvation of many thousands in a short time. What was key to the whole operation of the Spirit in these early days was the church’s burden to get outside its walls and go “house to house” where the people were and where ministry could take place.
Do we even miss that kind of outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Do we even want that kind of ministry today? Would we even know what to do with literally thousands of new, immature, zealous converts? Are we willing to learn from the early church’s methodology and get out in to the city and meet people where they are at? Do we even have this burden for the lost?
Throughout the months of March and April, our church will be participating in an effort with hundreds of other Southern Baptist Churches across the state and thousands of other Southern Baptist Churches across the country to get out the word of the gospel. The initiative is called the “FIND IT HERE” initiative and our role will consist primarily of canvassing thousands (yes thousands!) of homes in the South Lexington area in the weeks leading up to Easter and sharing with them invitations to attend our church on Easter Sunday where they can hear the gospel and consider their own salvation. Of course, our hope is that in the process, much evangelism and relationship-building will take place.
Our efforts will be buttressed by a national media campaign which will include radio and television ads that will air in the weeks leading up to Easter. These ads will direct people to a website (www.findithere.com) which will allow them to hear a thorough gospel presentation while also directing them to a local Southern Baptist church in which to find fellowship and counsel.
Our church will participate in the canvassing of no fewer than 2000 homes. We will be having a “Find it Here Workshop” on Saturday, March 6th from 9:00 to 12:00 noon. In this workshop, we will discuss be equipped for sharing while logistically preparing ourselves for the canvassing, prayer, and outreach that will take place on the following Saturdays in March (13, 20, and 27).
As a pastor and an evangelist, I am pleading with you today in the strongest possible terms to plan to participate in this effort. According to recent data, there are near 30,000 people in the 40503 zip code. There are over 17,000 people within a 2-mile radius of our church. In Stonewall neighborhood alone, there are over 2,500 people. Any church (including ours) content to allow its community to die without being engaged and challenged by the gospel, needs to do some serious soul-searching to honestly assess whether or not it can even be called a New Testament church. If we have absolutely no burden for the lost, can we really say the Spirit of Christ is in us? If we make no time to reach out to our city, can we really say we understand obedience, ministry and the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20).
Join us in this crucial effort. Commit to being a part of the Find it Here campaign. Also, pray for us. Pray not only that we would engage and connect-with the lost all around us, but pray that God will use the church’s leadership and this effort to revive us and re-focus us as a church on what our real purpose for existence is. We exist for the glory of God. We exist to make Christ known. We exist to make disciples of Jesus Christ. That is the kind of church we must strive to be if we are to be found faithful in the day of His glorious return.
Join me this month in making Christ known!
