REACHING THE LOST

The term Lost is a very heavy word. Who is the Lost? The Lost is anyone who is far from God. What is The spirit of Lostness in Muskegon? For the most part West Michigan is a bible belt of Michigan. Many people here grew up in church or at least attended church. Most people in West Michigan have heard the name of Jesus. So lost folks come from many backgrounds.

 

Who is the Lost…

1. Never encountered Jesus

2. Have encountered Jesus but didn’t accept Him

3. Have professed faith in Jesus but no longer follow Him.  

​

So we as a church are actively and passionately going to pursue those lost people in our lives. We are going to celebrate it, share stories about it, and equip each other to reach the Lost. Do you have a missional Push toward the Lost?  We need to. It’s not partying with the world, it’s stepping into their world and loving them, with the hope of sharing the gospel. Jesus did this.

​

Luke 5:30-31

30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

EQUIP THE FOUND

We as a church can’t just bring people to Jesus, and baptize them and let them stay there. We need to build them up. We need to equip them!  Train them. Show them. Lead them. When we think of Equip we are thinking of 2 things

​

1. Equip JRoad  to Follow Jesus.

2. Equip JRoad  to do the work of the ministry..

We equip you to Follow Jesus, when you come to Sunday morning. Each Sunday if you apply God’s word being preached you will grow in your faith. We guarantee it and you will mature in your walk with Jesus. We teach you and also equip you how to teach yourself.

And ultimately the goal is that you are able to teach others, and then equip people for ministry.

 

2 Timothy 2:2

2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.

SEND THE WILLING

 "A church should not be measured by its seating capacity but rather it’s sending capacity. “ Rick Warren

We are a missional church. So we are going to push our partners - what we call our members -  to be the church always.

​

1. The enemy of Reaching the Lost is Stealing Sheep

2. The enemy of Equipping is Entertaining. Equipping is hard and entertaining is easy…. 

3. The enemy of Being Sent is Comfort

 

Jesus left the comfort of heaven to come to earth on a mission to save mankind from Hell. So He is not asking us to do anything He hasn’t already done. So comfort is our enemy. It doesn’t mean we don’t have fun. It doesn’t mean we don’t have joy. But it means we don’t always do what is comfortable. When we get stuck in our comfort zone we stop growing.

 

Even in our lives it is much easier to sit at home than go to a gym. It is much easier to watch Netflix than read a book. It is much easier to ignore your marriage problems than it is to set an appointment with a counselor. If we want to grow in life, we have to do things that we are not used to. Once we experience the uncomfortable, thats where we find fulfillment.  So comfort isn’t always good and sometimes God puts us in uncomfortable situations. If you stay at JRoad long enough Jesus is going to push you out of your comfort zone, and you will have to say yes or no. 

 

Luke 10:1-7

1 The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit.

2 These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. 3 Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. 4 Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road. 5 “Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ 6 If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. 7 Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.