TESTIMONY CHURCH: GO, NOT COME
THEY ARE NOT COMING. WE MUST GO TO THEM.
2 QUESTIONS FOR CHRISTIANS:
1. How many times in your life, before you surrendered to Christ, outside a church building, did anyone come to you and tell you the true gospel of Jesus Christ? After asking this question to over 5000 people in NE Ohio and the Midwest, 98% say never or once.
2. Current evangelical church-growth experts report that 65-80% of the U.S. population WILL NOT come to a church building for a church service. They are not interested, period.
What does this mean? If you have a heart for God's broken and perishing children, you must realize that the odds of your unsaved loved ones and friends finding Christ are, therefore, minimal. They will almost certainly perish...unless WE GO TO THEM.
HERE'S THE GREAT NEWS!
Ed Stetzer, in his book Lost and Found, reports that 44% of these same defiant "church-rejecters" WILL study the Bible with a Christian friend in a non-church venue like a home, restaurant or workplace. For ages 30 and under, the percentage goes up to 61%!
Even better, 75% of those over 30 years old among these same non-church goers are still willing to hear about a Christian person's life journey with Christ: 89% of those under 30 years of age.
If we continue to use our old "invite to church" strategy, our loved ones will perish. They are not coming to church! Don't want to!
Testimony Church has broken free of these fruitless methods, and is moving in the Power of God's Heart to Save through each and every disciple, not just the pastor and church programs. The Book of Acts is happening again in NE Ohio, right now. Check out this video and join us!
THEY ARE NOT COMING. WE MUST GO TO THEM.
2 QUESTIONS FOR CHRISTIANS:
1. How many times in your life, before you surrendered to Christ, outside a church building, did anyone come to you and tell you the true gospel of Jesus Christ? After asking this question to over 5000 people in NE Ohio and the Midwest, 98% say never or once.
2. Current evangelical church-growth experts report that 65-80% of the U.S. population WILL NOT come to a church building for a church service. They are not interested, period.
What does this mean? If you have a heart for God's broken and perishing children, you must realize that the odds of your unsaved loved ones and friends finding Christ are, therefore, minimal. They will almost certainly perish...unless WE GO TO THEM.
HERE'S THE GREAT NEWS!
Ed Stetzer, in his book Lost and Found, reports that 44% of these same defiant "church-rejecters" WILL study the Bible with a Christian friend in a non-church venue like a home, restaurant or workplace. For ages 30 and under, the percentage goes up to 61%!
Even better, 75% of those over 30 years old among these same non-church goers are still willing to hear about a Christian person's life journey with Christ: 89% of those under 30 years of age.
If we continue to use our old "invite to church" strategy, our loved ones will perish. They are not coming to church! Don't want to!
Testimony Church has broken free of these fruitless methods, and is moving in the Power of God's Heart to Save through each and every disciple, not just the pastor and church programs. The Book of Acts is happening again in NE Ohio, right now. Check out this video and join us!
HEALTHY CHURCHES ARE MADE OF HEALTHY DISCIPLES: THIS IS THE TRUE TESTIMONY OF JESUS
The real measure of a healthy church is not how many people are sitting in their pews or how many programs they have. It is measured by how many of these "worship meeting" attenders actually follow Jesus to the point of bearing fruit by making new disciples. A tree is mature and healthy when it bears fruit. A woman is mature and healthy when she can have children. A true disciple of Jesus makes other disciples: "When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father" (John 15:8). All healthy living things have the ability to reproduce themselves. It is the same with true followers of Jesus.
WHY NO FRUIT? THE WESTERN CHURCH'S DEVESTATING ADDICTION
James 1:22: "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." The western church population is addicted to learning and study. Church-goers spend billions of dollars on Bible study materials, but after decades of learning they have virtually no ability to lead their neighbor (or anyone) to Christ. They think by attending study after study they are pleasing the Lord by learning "something new." This is a massive and catastrophic delusion! A crippling addiction. Where are the new fruit, the new disciples they should have reproduced? They are trees with lots of knowledge-leaves but no fruit! A healthy disciple will lead at people to Christ regularly.
In China, from whom we learned our new discipleship practices, a disciple's maturity is not measured by how much they know. It is measured by how much they obey! Their foundation is "Be a doer, not a hearer only!" In the U.S., Campus Crusade studies show less than 2% of evangelical Christians share their faith as a lifestyle focus. In China, they average disciple is expected to share their faith 5 times every week. Most do this even though they risk their lives in obeying! The Lord of the Harvest has honored their sacrificial obedience and added a harvest of over 200,000,000 souls to the church in the last 40 years! That's nearly 20% of China's total population. Best part: God's movement there is not slowing down, but continuing at a shocking pace.
THE TESTIMONY CHURCH WAY IS OBEDIENCE, NOT JUST KNOWLEDGE. TRUE HOLISTIC DISCIPLESHIP.
The real measure of a healthy church is not how many people are sitting in their pews or how many programs they have. It is measured by how many of these "worship meeting" attenders actually follow Jesus to the point of bearing fruit by making new disciples. A tree is mature and healthy when it bears fruit. A woman is mature and healthy when she can have children. A true disciple of Jesus makes other disciples: "When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father" (John 15:8). All healthy living things have the ability to reproduce themselves. It is the same with true followers of Jesus.
WHY NO FRUIT? THE WESTERN CHURCH'S DEVESTATING ADDICTION
James 1:22: "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." The western church population is addicted to learning and study. Church-goers spend billions of dollars on Bible study materials, but after decades of learning they have virtually no ability to lead their neighbor (or anyone) to Christ. They think by attending study after study they are pleasing the Lord by learning "something new." This is a massive and catastrophic delusion! A crippling addiction. Where are the new fruit, the new disciples they should have reproduced? They are trees with lots of knowledge-leaves but no fruit! A healthy disciple will lead at people to Christ regularly.
In China, from whom we learned our new discipleship practices, a disciple's maturity is not measured by how much they know. It is measured by how much they obey! Their foundation is "Be a doer, not a hearer only!" In the U.S., Campus Crusade studies show less than 2% of evangelical Christians share their faith as a lifestyle focus. In China, they average disciple is expected to share their faith 5 times every week. Most do this even though they risk their lives in obeying! The Lord of the Harvest has honored their sacrificial obedience and added a harvest of over 200,000,000 souls to the church in the last 40 years! That's nearly 20% of China's total population. Best part: God's movement there is not slowing down, but continuing at a shocking pace.
THE TESTIMONY CHURCH WAY IS OBEDIENCE, NOT JUST KNOWLEDGE. TRUE HOLISTIC DISCIPLESHIP.
