This past week I have been struggling with the idea of where the “New Normal” leads us in our purpose in life. The books, “Purpose Driven Life” and “Purpose Driven Church” have been thought provoking for me in my ministry. They have helped me as I try to live my life for Christ and to help churches that desire to glorify him by fulfilling the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. During the week I was hit with the idea of our living to multiply, that is to share our faith and lead others to do the same to accomplish evangelism in our current world. All of these ideas centered around a prayer challenge this week of striving to lead our churches in loving the lost in our world.

One of the key components of our strategic plan has been the need to plant new churches. We have struggled to move forward partly because we are in survival mode and partly because our purpose has been focused on making Advent Christian churches to build our numbers and less on winning the lost because we love them. It is believed that more people are won to Christ in the process of planting new churches than are won through existing churches. The interesting fact is that existing churches involved in helping to plant also see a significant rise in new converts because they are committed to sharing their faith with people in their lives. One of the key ways we glorify God is by sharing our faith and discipling new converts. If our relationship with Jesus Christ is an important part of our lives, how can we not be sharing it daily with our families and people we love who God puts in our lives?

A cousin of mine had a terminal illness and was put in the hospital near me and I began to visit him. I had a deep conviction to share Christ with him, but it was not easy to bring it up for many relational reasons. One day I prayed on my way to see him about sharing Christ and determined today would be the day. Near the end of my visit, I looked at him and simply said “You know I love you and I just can’t leave here without talking to you about Jesus.” God had already been working in his heart and he received Christ. A month later, I preached his funeral and was able to share with his wife, children and rest of our family the hope of the resurrection we now had because of his decision. What drove me that day was the fact that I loved my cousin and I knew he needed Jesus Christ. Do we love the lost enough to share the most important part of our lives, a message we have been commanded to share that can change their lives forever?