Baptist Churches Committed to World Evangelism

This is a list put together by Pastor Austin Gardner that represents some very good goals for us to strive toward as a church.  He preached these goals to our church on Sunday night, and I hope that you will ask God how you can be involved in helping us to be this kind of a church.

Baptist Churches Committed to World Evangelism pledge to do the following:

The pastor and the leadership of our church do hereby commit themselves to whole heartedly to endeavor with God’s help to do the following as soon as possible

1. Work at evangelizing the world in their Jerusalem by committing to knock on and evangelize a minimum of 50,000 people that live close to their church at least twice a year

a. That means knocking on a minimum of 13,000 doors at least once each year and preferably twice a year in a systematic and organized fashion leaving a piece of literature in the house or on the door. This works out to approximately 250 doors a week if you plan to use another means to get the gospel to your area in the same year

b. Use the postal service or other means to get the gospel to each one at least one more time a year

c. Use radio, television and or Internet to reach their Jerusalem with the gospel.

2. Commit to have their church divided up and organized to pray to the Lord of the Harvest that he send forth laborers to His harvest.

a. Every part of the world will have leadership interest in prayer

b. Every missionary will have someone who takes a personal interest in the work and the country

3. The church will organize its ministries so that World Evangelism is taught and put before the people every week through the church, the pulpit, the Sunday School, VBS etc

4. The Church will strive to give 50% of its income to the support of World Evangelism as soon as God so enables them.

5. The church will commit to be a discipling church. Where discipleship is important from the pulpit, every person is involved in discipleship and being prepared for the work

6. The church will encourage, enable and motivate its people with a goal of having a minimum of one third of the church on the mission field and visit regularly getting involved in actual mission work. Short term missionary endeavor

7. Be a soul winning church where the members are accustomed to seeing people get saved and lives changed

8. Provide material to its members that will motivate and prepare them to do more to reach the world

9. Get everyone involved in the ministry and carrying the load of God’s work in their local church. Preparing men to take the load of the ministry even to the point of preparing a man with the ability to take the pastors place in the future

10. Aggressively seek to plant other local churches here in the USA sending their own members, money, prayer, and labor.

A Day of Good Tidings

2Kings 7:9 Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king’s household.

The city of Samaria is under seign by the Syrians.  They are starving to death.  Things are so bad that a donkey’s head and dove’s dung are sold for alot of money.  The people are even resorting to the cannibalism of their own children (2 Kings 6:24-33).

Four lepers are sitting at the gate of the city.  They know they are going to die; so instead of sitting there and dying, they decide to go to the camp of Syria and see if they will help them.

Early the next morning, they come to the Syrian camp.  When they get to the camp, it is a ghost town.  All the animals, tents, food, money, and clothing was there, but none of the Syrian soldiers remained.  The Syrians fled because the Lord caused them to hear the sound of a great army.

The lepers are estatic!  They run into the tents and begin to eat and drink.  They carry out gold and silver and hid it.  But then they say to one another, we are not doing well.  Today is a day of good tidings for the whole city and we have not told anyone.  So they go and tell the people, and the whole city is delivered from death.

Noticed several applications of this passage to us:

1. Certain death awaits every man just like the Samarian people were going to die from salvation or the soldiers.  Because of our sin, we are condemned already.  The payment for our sin is death.
2. God has provided for our salvation.  God miraculously scared the Syrians away, and God has miraculously provided Himself as a substitute and payment for our sins.
3. We must humble ourself and get desparate enough to cast ourselves upon the Lord’s mercy.  The lepers were desparate.  They did not know where to turn, so they entrusted themselves to the mercy of the Syrians.
4. Once we have experienced God’s salvation, we do not well if we do not tell others.  The lepers could not just stay there enjoying the blessings of their salvation knowing that the whole city was starving to death. 

Today is a day of good tidings!  If you are not saved, God can save you.  If you have been saved, then tell others how they can be delivered from sin, death, and Hell and enjoy the wondering goodness of a relationship with Jesus Christ.

 

 

Speak for the Lord

2 Kings 5:2-3 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.  And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.

God works powerfully in this story to heal Naaman, captain of the host of Syria, of his leprosy and to make him a believer in the God is Israel.  We can only imagine how his belief in God influenced others in Syria and within his influence.

What brought about this great conversion?  the words of a little maid!  She was a captive and servant to Naaman’s wife.  She knew the true and living God.  She respected God’s prophet.  She boldly shared about his power.

God used those few words spoken by a little maid to change Naaman’s life.  God is looking for someone he can use today.  You do not have to be super intelligent or talented; all you need to do is be willing to speak a word for the Lord.  Who knows how God may use your witness?

Are we so in love with Jesus and so in awe of His power that we cannot help but speak for Him?