What's The Attraction?

A frequent reader asked that I consider Psalm 116, it's her favorite Scripture. That will not happen today. I will get to that Sarah S., thank-you for the suggestion.

My wife and I have been church shopping. I'm sure many of you out there know what that's like. We settled on a church and started attending on a regular basis. The pastor was a good speaker. The music was good. The people were friendly. We already had some friends that were attending there. We were looking at their ministries and considering where we could fit in. We were content, until God intervened.

We had received some mailings from a church that was just starting up. My wife talked about visiting there but I wanted to go online and check it out. I did and for whatever reason wasn't overly impressed so we stayed where we were.

Because of an advertising gimmick that I won't get into (because of length) a friend of mine posted a picture and some comments on Facebook about that same church. He was concerned about the message that was being conveyed. Frankly, I thought he had reason to be concerned.

It turns out that my sister, because of a friend's recommendation, had attended that church the previous Sunday. She was blown away by what she experienced. She thought my wife and I should check it out and we did.

Have you ever gone to a church and known right away that it was the place where you belonged? Until this year, it only happened to me once. Now, it's twice. After attending the first Sunday, we have not returned to the other church.

What was the attraction? They meet in a movie theatre. I can't say that I'm crazy about that, it's dark. The worship music is current. I'm not too familiar with today's worship music. I like hymns and worship music of the 80's and 90's. The pastor is young and so is the average age of the congregation. The average age increased quite a bit when I showed up. So, what's the attraction?

The church has a vision. They are not just interested in growing a congregation with transfers from other churches (which is not growth but redistribution). Their goal is to reach the lost with the gospel. They have a heart not only for the neighborhood but for the whole metropolitan area. They are willing to partner with other congregations to achieve that goal. There's action behind their words!

The pastor is not content with believers showing up, filling seats, and watching others do the work. He wants to know what your gifts are and get you plugged into ministry. He expects everyone to be involved, as I like to say, get their hands dirty. He challenges and encourages his congregation to be ministers of the gospel. He will do whatever it takes to make sure that everyone's full potential is reached. The Sunday teaching comes straight from the Scriptures. There's no guessing where the message comes from. He's not interested in the latest fads. He's energized and it transfers to the congregation.

There is a ministry team that intentionally moved into this area to help plant the church! They are not casting a net out the front door hoping that some fish will jump in or playing cool music hoping that someone driving by might hear it and stop in. They are going out and seeking the lost!

Most important is that Jesus is lifted up. It's all about Him. It's all for His glory and His honor. Jesus is the foundation of all that takes place in that fellowship.

What's the attraction? I think you can see it. God bless y'all real good.