I heard a guy named Gary Lamb speak at a conference last February. He's a pretty in your face dude and I loved his passion for reaching those who don't know Christ. He started out his session by saying "every church planter says they want to reach unchurched people, but few actually do. Most of them are stealing sheep from other churches."
The stats in our country prove exactly that. While the number of megachurches over the past 10 years has doubled, the number of people actually a part of a church has dropped by about %15. What does that mean? It means that most churches that are growing are doing so because they've got better music, better preaching or better programs than the former church of their new members. Every once in awhile, you find a church that is actually growing through evangelism.
Here are a few that I know of.
Revolution: Canton, GA
GracePoint: Shawnee, KS (I worked with Dave for two years)
ForeFront: Virginia Beach, VA
Gateway Community Beach, Austin, TX
And you need to read Gary's post, it's good stuff. link
He's exactly right. As pastor, I need to keep most stuff private, but just this week Erin and I have been talking with several different people that are dealing with some serious stuff. While Jesus Christ sets us free from sin and destructive patterns, it usually doesn't happen overnight. It takes time. God is doing it through our church, it's a long and slow process.
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