Reaching Your Community

What Is Community?

Before we can reach reach our community we have to know what it is.

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition) Community

com•mu•ni•ty \kə-ˈmyü-nə-tē\ noun

plural -ties often attributive [Middle English comunete, from Anglo-French communité, from Latin communitat-, communitas, from communis] 14th century

1: a unified body of individuals: as

a: STATE, COMMONWEALTH

b: the people with common interests living in a particular area broadly: the area itself 〈the problems of a large community〉

c: an interacting population of various kinds of individuals (as species) in a common location

d: a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society 〈a community of retired persons〉

e: a group linked by a common policy

f: a body of persons or nations having a common history or common social, economic, and political interests 〈the international community〉

g: a body of persons of common and especially professional interests scattered through a larger society 〈the academic community〉

I’m reminded of an event that happened years ago at a church I was pasturing. Each year we had an event at Halloween called trunk or treat. It became a huge community outreach event. Children would come to the church and we basically gave them tons of candy as we shared the gospel. Families felt safe to allow their children to come and receive the candy the church afforded. Leading up to the event one of the ladies asked, “What are we reaching out for.” She was totally oblivious to the fact that it an outreach to the community. A show of God’s love.

How many times do we not know why are we doing what we’re doing?

What does the Bible say about communities?

The Bible has multiple examples of different communities. One that I think give us a great picture of community is found in Acts.

The New King James Version Chapter 4

32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.

Here we find a group of believers or a community of believers. (Local Church)

The New King James Version Chapter 15

23 They wrote this letter by them:

The apostles, the elders, and the brethren,

To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:

Here we find a group of believers or Community but on a larger scale. (Association)

Both of these communities are different but yet the same. They are different because of size and geographical locations but each are one community of believers.

Can we belong to multiple communities?

YES

What are some communities that you belong to?

Family

Church Family

Neighborhood

Region

Country

Kingdom Family

Each of these are made up of believers and non-believers. Today we’ll be talking about Reaching into our communities to bring the gospel to the non-believers. To bring them into the community of God.

Why Do We Want To Bring People into Our Community?

We are commanded to.

The New King James Version Chapter 28

The Great Commission

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

2.Love for our Community

The New King James Version Chapter 7

Golden Rule

Luke 6:31

12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

If we’re supposed to be like Christ then we shouldn’t want anyone to perish.

The New King James Version Chapter 3

9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance

Now that we have established who are community is and why we want to reach them the next question is

How Do We Reach Our Community?

The New King James Version Chapter 14

28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.

You Got To Have a Plan

1. Establish a Goal

A. Who are we trying to reach. (Children,Young Adults,Senior Adults, etc)

B.What are we going to do to reach them?(vbs,potluck,conference,etc)

C.When are we going to reach them? (daytime,Saturday,rainy day)

2. What’s it going to cost?

A. Money

B. Time

C. Energy

Alright now we have the plan.

How Do We Execute the Plan to Reach Our Community?

1. Pray (Luke 10:1-2)

“After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and he sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.” (Luke 10:1–2, CSB)

The reality is that there will always be more lost people than Christians who want to share the Gospel. Anyone who says that we have reached everyone is wrong. Every successive generation needs to reach their generation. Because of this reality, we need to pray. Jesus said to pray for workers. Because He knows that we don’t want to work in sharing the Gospel. He knows that we are lazy. If we can get away with the most impersonal form of evangelism, we will do it. So we need to pray for workers.

The prayer is not just for workers. The prayer is for workers to be motivated to go. Jesus doesn’t tell us to just pray for more workers. He wants us to pray for people who are willing to go.

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who should I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8, CSB)

The problem is not that we pray for the lost. Many of us have compassion for the lost. We are willing to pray for the lost. Our problem is that we don’t want to go tell them about Jesus. We want the pastor to do that work. But we don’t want to do it ourselves. We have depended upon other methods to reach people.

The emphasis here is on building relationships. This is the reason why Jesus says for them to go out in pairs. Some of those pairs would be married couples. So instead of focusing only on my personal family, Jesus is forcing a family to reach out to another family. That is the pattern. We are called to reach out to other people, other families.

2. Go (Luke 10:3)

“Now go; I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves.” (Luke 10:3, HCSB)

The way is dangerous and so are the people whom we will meet. Not everyone is open to the Gospel. Many are hostile to it. The prayer is to send out workers. The prayer is answered when we actually go. Fear should not be a reason to not go and share the Gospel. Distraction should not prevent us from going.

The problem that needs to be addressed is us. We need to stop talking about the community and start going. We need to stop just working with people who come to church. We need to each make an effort to go.

3. Trust (Luke 10:4)

“Don’t carry a money-bag, traveling bag, or sandals; don’t greet anyone along the road.” (Luke 10:4, HCSB)

God wants us to trust Him. We don’t just trust people – they may detract us. We don’t just trust products – they may prevent us. We trust in God. He will provide the way to share the Gospel. There are mechanisms, models, and methods which work. Some work better in different environments than others.

4. Remain (Luke 10:5-8)

“Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they offer, for the worker is worthy of his wages. Don’t be moving from house to house. When you enter any town, and they welcome you, eat the things set before you.” (Luke 10:5–8, HCSB)

The process here from Jesus is to find someone who is receptive to Gospel – a family of peace. Someone who is not hostile to the Gospel. From this home, you go out to other people and share the Gospel. The disciples would stay at this home of the man of peace. They would trust him to provide and pay for what the disciples needed. It is a strategic decision.

When it comes to personal evangelism, you don’t trust everyone. You find people who are receptive to the Gospel. People who will let you in. People who have accepted God’s message of salvation. You trust a family or people who will let you share the Gospel. They will give you hospitality and a hearing of the Gospel.

Jesus never said that everyone would accept you. As a matter of fact, later He will warn that there will be whole towns which will not be receptive. That is true in every context.

“When you enter any town, and they don’t welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘We are wiping off as a witness against you even the dust of your town that clings to our feet. Know this for certain: The kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.” (Luke 10:10–12, HCSB)

5. Share (Luke 10:9)

“Heal the sick who are there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near you.’” (Luke 10:9, CSB)

You share two things: you share (1) God’s power and (2) your testimony.

God will use you. You earn the right to share the Gospel. Maybe you prayed for healing for someone, or you provided a meal to someone. In our case as a church, we provide a need for their children.

In today’s context, we can provide material needs. But many people misuse that. We can provide a need to learn and practice skills. In that case, for example, Upwards Sports is a way to provide skills for kids. They will use them in school and maybe use them elsewhere. The key is to provide what they want to need.

We know that they need the Gospel. But lost people don’t think they need the Gospel. Lost people know that they need bills paid. But they won’t use the bridge of paying bills to listen to the church about the Gospel.

Lost people want their children to have a wonderful experience learning a skill. That’s a need. It’s a perceived need in the mind of a lost person. That is why there are so many sports leagues in this county.

Once you have provided a need, people will be open to hearing about spiritual things. You get the chance to share the Gospel.

“Heal the sick who are there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near you.’” (Luke 10:9, HCSB)

There will be people who won’t accept the Gospel. You watch for people who will not accept the Gospel. You still share the Gospel with them, even if they won’t accept it. But you don’t worry about it. Just warn them.

6. Warn (Luke 10:10-12)

“When you enter any town, and they don’t welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘We are wiping off as a witness against you even the dust of your town that clings to our feet. Know this for certain: The kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.” (Luke 10:10–12, HCSB)

Now you are not responsible about what the people do with the Gospel. You are responsible for sharing the Gospel. If they don’t accept the Gospel, then you warn them. It doesn’t mean you rain down fire and brimstone on their homes. You warn the people that they have a right to hear the good news of Jesus. You warn them that Jesus is coming back and that time is short. Jesus said that Sodom will receive a more positive review from God than this community that won’t listen. It is a great privilege to have the chance to hear the gospel shared with you.

“I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.” (Luke 10:12, HCSB)

The warning is for the people who don’t accept the Gospel that comes from personal evangelism.

You Must Know Your Community to Reach Your Community

This statement is two fold.

First Your community is your church. What gifts has your church been blessed with? For me we have a good deal of carpenters in our church. So we started the “Go Team”. We do local projects (wheelchair ramps home repairs) state and nation wide (disaster relief)

Second you need to know the community that you’re reaching into. What are their needs?

When Reaching Your Community you are simply sharing God’s Love

The New King James Version Chapter 4

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.