Growing Church

This week everybody’s talking about the new iPhone application “Confession,” how convenient it would be to have your sins forgiven on your phone! BUT! The Vatican has issued a clarification: No. "One may not speak in any sense of confessing via iPhone," the Rev. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office, said in a statement this Wednesday (Feb. 9). The clarification was also issued by the designers – it is only to prepare a person for the real confessional!

Some find this funny, how people want to find shortcuts for everything, even Salvation! Some are looking for shortcuts in relationships. Others for shortcuts in Church Growth, by just using the right model, or strategy.

As I opened the Adventist Review (latest issue) there was an short article by Stephen Chavez on a similar topic. How people want to believe that we can grow the church by mass-distributed, media enhanced, on-line messages – witnessing by proxy. BUT! It does not work.

Just think of this illustration – if you want to fill 100 bottles with water, do you just put them on the floor and throw water on them? Or do you “grab one by the neck,” fill it, and then grab the next one? Now, we are not grabbing people by the neck to fill them with truth, but nothing can replace the –one-on-one witnessing method.

Last Sunday Pathfinders learned how to give personal testimony. It’s simple, three steps: Before, How & Since, under 2 minutes. They will practice on February 26 before their peers. Have you prepared your personal testimony? Have you given one? Ever?

Revelation 12:11 encourages believers how to overcome “by the Blood of the Lamb and by the Word of Personal testimony!” You have accepted Jesus’ death for you, now it’s time to testify how He is working in your life.

One of our pioneers, Ellen White wrote in a little book “Ministry of healing” (p.470) “The strongest argument in favour of the gospel is a loving and loveable Christian.” You cannot do it over the Internet! The only way we make Jesus known is by getting personal with people, by one-on-one, by sharing personal witness.

This weekend everyone around is expecting more love, more affection, more warmth. Use the opportunity! Show more love! In person, not “on-line,” not virtually.