by Steve Hale
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" ( Acts 1:8, NKJV) How wonderful it is to be part of a mission-minded church! Central America! The Ukraine! Africa! Former works in Virginia, Scotland, and Canada! Wonderful!
While we want to keep pressing missions throughout the world, we don't want to do this to the neglect of our own backyard! Notice the emphasis the Lord gave to the apostles: "...Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
They were to start right where they were, and reach out to the province surrounding Jerusalem (Judea). From Judea, they were to launch into Samaria (yes, even those Samaritans were to know Christ), and then to the end of the earth ( Colossians 1:6, 23).
Mt. Juliet is a city of various churches, many of them quite large. Yet, 51% of our city is unchurched. And, many of that 49% that show-up on church rolls show-up only there. Many people are yet to be won to Christ in our own city, not even to mention reaching out to our denominational friends!
7500 households have 37122 as their Zip Code. This does not include the several thousand more within reach of our community that have the Old Hickory Zip Code (37138), yet live in Wilson County.
It does not include the hundreds that have Hermitage Zip Code (37076), yet are in Wilson County. Hundreds have a Lebanon Zip Code (37087), yet are closer to Mt. Juliet. These are households!
We need to adopt several strategies to harvest as many people as possible for Christ. Let me propose a few:
1. Welcome -- A number of companies are willing to provide information as to newcomers into our area. We should greet them with packers containing information about the church, and her various ministries. First impressions are powerful and important.
2. Follow-up -- Visits and Bible Srudies can be set-up with interested newcomers to the community and our worship services. A team of
harvesters can work on a quarterly basis, finish up any studies in progress, as a new team of say twelve (six teams of two each) take their turn."
3. Callings and Mailings -- Periodically, we need to reach into the community for Bible study These are wonderful ways to reach out!
Let's be mission-minded here as well as overseas!