A couple weeks ago in church my
pastor was talking about this very topic. Our church is in a very small
community that is becoming a bit run down. It has the potential to become a
beautiful place, but a lot of the people who live there don't necessarily have the money to
change things. Pastor Jared challenged us to think of ways that our church
could make a difference in the community. He challenged us to look at
evangelism as not just inviting people to come to church, but to bring the
church to them. I believe having a servant mentality and love for the people
are two great ways for the church to better reflect Christ.
First off the church needs to
develop a servant mentality. In the presentation, “Christianity and Culture”
Professor Towns talked about how just as Jesus was sent into the world we are
also sent into the world to serve. Matthew 23:11 (MSG) says, “Do you want to
stand out? Then step down. Be a servant.” I use to think of a servant as
someone who has to do everything their master commands, and they are dirty and
looked down upon. But, now that I've really thought about it I see a servant as
someone who is obedient, not afraid to get dirty, and humble. The church needs
to be obedient to what God tells them to do, and he has already called us out
into the world. The church also needs to be willing to get down and dirty and
do some work. All of this should be done in a humble manner not to draw
attention to themselves, but to draw people to the Lord. As I mentioned, the
community my church is in could use some work so I’ve been thinking of things
the church could do to improve things. Professor Towns mentioned a few things
in his video such as starting a free clinic, music and acting classes, and
working with Habitat for Humanity. My church could easily start some music
classes and art classes for local children. We could also just start cleaning
up the town. There have been some houses burn down, and the remains need to be
cleaned up. Another need the community has is for a fire truck and a few
volunteer firefighters. This of course is a large need, but it is something the
church could make happen in the future. These are just a few examples of things
the church could do in order to help the community.
Along with all of this work needs
to be love for the people. It’s important to remember that the church is not
the building you meet in it’s the people (Etzel & Gutierrez, 2012). So the
church should be just a bunch of people who love other people. Everything that
the church does to serve the community should be done out of love for the
people. Everything Jesus did on earth was because he loves his people with an
unconditional love, and that should be said of the church as well. I think one
major problem with some churches today is that they just try to get people into
their building rather that really loving them and getting down on their level.
I think the purpose of being a servant is to do life with the people of the
community, to help them with whatever they need, and to love them
unconditionally. Doing this will help to form a relationship with the community
that goes beyond the walls of the church into the very hearts of the people.
The more the church does to help out the community the more people will be
drawn to the Lord.
I know there are many other things
the church can do to reflect Christ, but I think these two things will a good
place to start. If the church can grasp the concept of loving the people
unconditionally they will in turn become servants. When you love people with a
Christ-like love it moves you to help them and have compassion on people. When
the church starts loving and serving the community will be changed, and when
the community is changed the kingdom of God will grow, and the people will go
out into other communities and do the same. It will be a ripple effect that can
change the world.
Works Cited
Etzel,
G. and Gutierrez, G. (2013). Praxis:
beyond theory. Virginia Beach, VA: Academx Publishing Services.
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