In with the New
Matthew 9:16-17
January 6, 2013
Morning Message
24 Hour Time Period in North America
11,350 babies will be born and 6663 people will die
6,110 couples will get married and 3110 will get divorced
87 will die in suicides, 36 will die from AIDS, 49 will die in murders and 43 alcohol related deaths
3396 will declare bankruptcy
411 will convert to Islam
827 will become Mormons
10 churches will close permanently
Our mission field is ripe, ready and more receptive than we realize! People are waiting for us to come. Tim Roehl – Director of Church Multiplication, Wesleyan Church
Fast Facts about the North American Church – Game Plan
1. North America is the only continent where the church is not growing
2. There are now over 280 million unchurched people in the USA and Canada
3. In the past 15 years, USA churches have spent 500 billion dollars on buildings and programs with little or no growth
4. 80% of people do not attend church and 80% of churches are stagnant or in decline
5. Over half of all churches did not add one member through conversion last year
6. New churches are 11 times more likely to reach unchurched people. There needs to be 3000 new churches planted per year just to keep up with population growth
7. North America is the largest English speaking mission field in the world
8. Too many churched people believe and behave like unchurched people
9. 53,000 people will drop out of churches and never return
10. Lost people lose
16"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse.17Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved." Matthew 9:16-17
Barriers to the mission
1. Perspective
Many times our perspective keeps us from seeing God move in the church. We often like things the way they are because that is what makes us comfortable. There is a certain amount of uncertainty with attempting new things. There are many things that God does that were never done before.
* God had never revealed His name before Moses
* God had never chosen a people before Abraham
* God had never become human before He sent Jesus
Are we going to limit the work and will of God because of our lack of perspective?
* We never had enough Sunday School space until recently
* We never had a Fellowship Hall until recently
God is opening new doors of opportunity for us like never before. We must be willing to step through the door.
2. Potential
Many want to simply leave things the way they are in the church. We become satisfied living with a status quo and hate to think about something “rocking the boat.” I want to ask an important question: Did Jesus ever accept the status quo? Absolutely Not! The problem with status quo thinking is that it often misses the potential.
We often get caught in a mindset that doing the same thing we have always done will reap better results. This may or may not be true. If something is no longer working we need to scrap it and start doing something new. If we want to get different results, we may have to do some different things.
It is possible to experience change without growth but it is impossible to experience growth without change. When we experience growth, we cannot remain the same.
We cannot afford to miss the potential of getting better results. We cannot afford the status quo mindset. Sometimes we need to make changes to get better results.
Lessons from the Wineskins
1. Remember we are a people on a mission
Our first priority needs to be Christ’s mission
A. Salvation
Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. The priority of the Kingdom is bringing lost people into the Kingdom. There is nothing more important than spreading the good news and seeing people changed by the transforming power of the resurrection. If this is the top priority of Jesus, shouldn’t it be the top priority of the church? What would happen if we started measuring the success of our ministries by the number of people who come to Christ?
B. Service
Jesus came to serve a lost and dying world. Jesus came to reach out to those around Him. We should seek out new opportunities to reach the community around us.
C. Spirit
Jesus was led by the power of the Holy Spirit. The church needs to be spirit led in its work. We need to seek more and more of the Spirit’s presence and guidance for the church and for ourselves personally.
D. Sacrifice
Jesus gave His life to reach a dying world. Reaching new people is going to require sacrifice by the church. It is going to take energy, effort and expense to reach people. We have invested heavily in our property and facilities, now it’s time to invest in people. If we don’t sacrifice to reach new people, building a Fellowship and Education area was a waste.
2. Remember the church does not belong to us
Many forget that the church does not belong to the congregation or to the denomination. The head of the church is Christ. Everything needs to be at His disposal for His mission and His purpose.
Many times we act like the church belongs to us, it does not. The building is a tool for us to do the work of the Kingdom and accomplish the mission. Since the building does not belong to us, we should be looking for more ways to use it to reach the community.
The church belongs to Jesus, just like we belong to Jesus. We have been bought with a price and that means we surrender our will to the will of Jesus. We desires and preferences may not always fit into the overall plans of God.
3. Remember God is doing something new
When God starts to do something new, He asks us to do something new. The reality is that there is no way to get new wine without preparing some new wineskins. What are some ways that we can create new wineskins within the church?
* Create specific core values/ Vision and purpose statements
We have the statements of the Wesleyan Church to give general guidelines. We need to create specific statements that help guide us locally.
* New Sunday School Emphasis: We need to promote Sunday School and help people get connected into Sunday School. Those who attend Sunday School grow more rapidly spiritually and develop deeper connections with others in the church. We need to develop another adult Sunday School class geared for Younger Adults (18-35)
* Contemporary Worship on Sunday Evenings
We are going to be doing a more contemporary worship service on Sunday evenings. 100% of churches that experienced renewal started a contemporary worship service.
* Increased ministry focus on Children, Teens and Younger Adults.
* Focus Groups
We are going to gather different groups within the church and asks specific questions to improve ministry and deal with specific concerns.
* Spiritual Gift Driven Ministry
* Prayer emphasis
We are going to continue using prayer vigils during important times of the year. We will be holding additional prayer retreats through the year.
* Spiritual Emphasis
