This blog may stir some emotions and quite frankly it needs to. I have reason to doubt that some churches aren’t reaching out to the broken or misguided souls and have fallen short of the Gospel. I felt led by the Holy Spirit to get this message out because Jesus would want churches to take an active position in ministering to the lost souls. So why are churches failing broken people? What needs to happen to get our churches to become proactive in saving souls?
Am I correct in my understanding –the underlying purpose of a church body is to show people Jesus by providing worship, ministry, evangelism, fellowship and discipleship. Ultimately, shouldn’t we be actively engaging to save souls from going to hell?
I also believe saving the lost should not reflect a passive position of ministry. Why wait for the broken to come to you? Shouldn’t we as a church be actively going after those lost sheep like Jesus?
Broken Churches
This revelation/discernment of broken churches came to me during the shutdown of churches due to the pandemic. We all had time to reflect on our values in life and God during this difficult time. My spiritual eyes and mind were opened to some churches failing lost souls so I cannot ignore my obedience from God to get this message out.
So let me be bold with my feelings… It seems more churches today are focused too much on entertainment for the potentially saved souls rather than seeking the lost to be saved.
I’m pretty sure Jesus would agree with this saying…The church is not a harbor for saints; it is a hospital for sinners.
This pandemic has made me do some serious thinking about the churches in today’s world especially with all the changes in churches lately to include virtual church, drive in churches, and churches in the reopening phases. Although, it seems to me Christian people became more connected to one another during these scary times and we seemed to be pulled closer to God through it all. But, it also made me think about the anguish of the lost or broken.
With all the talk about getting closer to the end times, I couldn’t help but be concerned about the souls that are lost and not saved. My compassion led me to thinking further into what the churches today are or aren’t doing enough to help bring many struggling in sin, or their faith, toward Jesus.
The Saved and Sinners…
People are starving for the glory of God. We die without it. Every week people come into church services parched, thirsty and starving for the message from the clergy. So what about the ones outside the church walls? Shouldn’t they be feeling the same way? But, maybe no one ever reached out to them to introduce them to Jesus.
It’s very sad for me to know there are people even on the inside the church walls that are silently struggling with pain in their souls as well as those on the outside of the church. They come to church in pain and leave with some relief but non the less still in pain.
I’ve attended a few churches through the years and the only ones I have “personally” experienced actively going after the lost or broken souls is The Father’s Heart Ministries in Penn, PA and The House of Faith- The Barn in West Newton, PA. I like to give credit where credit is due. I am sure there are many other churches out there doing this and I would love to know what churches you’ve experienced this with. But this is my personal, first hand experience with calling out the lost or broken or anyone struggling with any ailments of any kind to come to the front of the church to be prayed over or ministered directly. Now that’s truly showing people the loving, caring and healing Jesus I know.
Isn’t this the act of love that Jesus would want our churches to be doing?
Friends, we can no longer take a passive approach and expect people struggling with any form of addiction, depression, suicide thoughts, spiritual deadness, health issues, or for anyone struggling for any reason. People are hurting and want relief and to feel accepted by a church. I believe churches should engage with them directly to show them the love of Jesus. We don’t need churches that just sits in the side lines waiting for sinners or broken people to come forth.
Jesus says go after the lost…
Jesus doesn’t say…wait for the lost to come to you.
Something you notice about Jesus is that He had a very clear bias towards the poor and the broken. In fact, He said that He’s come to bring good news to
the poor and the broken. He hung around with them. He loved them. He healed them. He blessed them. Why? Because that’s who God is.
Mark 16:15-16 “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
Matthew 9:37-38 “Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
First Corinthians 9:22 “To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.”
Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Proverbs 11:30 “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.”
Doesn’t this prove Jesus expects the same thing from us? Bringing the sinners forward toward salvation to prevent them from going to hell someday?
I know for a fact, Jesus would not give up on any of his children…He continues to go after the lost sheep but He also needs our help!
What are your thoughts on this? Have you had first hand experience with this brokenness in churches? Do you personally know any churches going after the lost? I would love to know your thoughts.