Why I Did Not Attend Church Sunday Part II

To understand why I did not attend church Sunday you must understand that I view myself a little differently than I did just a couple of years ago. I always understood that when Jesus gave the Great Commission He was commanding us to go into all the world. I always put an emphasis on "go" but added that we were to bring people back to the church building to attend a special serviced or event. My go always had a hidden motive.

As God started dealing with my heart about church planting, He began to let me see His Commission in a different light. I began to have such questions as: Will I go to people who will not come to my church? Will I go to them under the disguise of friendship only to get them to do what I want them to do - accept Christ, attend church, begin giving money, etc. Will I model the example of Christ and go to people who would eventually crucify me?

Working through these questions made me see that God was calling our family to be missionaries. (By the way, I believe this means that all believers are to be missionaries.) I thought this meant we would go somewhere cool like Africa or Asia, but it surprised me when God clearly showed us Greenville, SC.

As missionaries we have taken time (almost a year) to learn the language. Yes, people outside of the church have a different language than believers - and not just curse words. We are learning the behaviors and traditions of people. We are learning to go to people who will not come to our churches. We (especially me) are learning to serve people who will never attend our church, give money to us, or support in any way.

You may ask why do all this when there are plenty of churches in Greenville and a ton of good ministry happening. The answer is simple. I have hear the statistic for the last 15 years that the majority of our churches are not reaching anyone - they are statistically plateaued or dying. If that is the case, then when is someone going to step up and try something new? I just figure that God is leading us into something new. A deeper committment to the Great Commission of "Go".

So why was I not in church Sunday morning? (By the way I do not believe in forsaking the assembly, our assembly was Wed night. Read my last blog about this.) Because we were being missionaries to our community by specifically praying for people. Our next step is to begin inviting these people to our home for Sunday brunch. As missionaries, our goal is to go. Therefore, we must adapt to their schedule so that someone is home when we go.

So who are you a missionary to?