7-30-08
IT’S GREAT TO SEE A
CHURCH THAT IS
TRULY INTERESTED IN
SAVING SOULS
Sunday morning Arlean and I had
the privilege of visiting the Red Brush Christian
church in Louisville, IL. We were impressed from the
moment we first saw this modest building. Everything
was clean, mowed and manicured. But when we stepped
in the front doors I noticed something that really
caught my eye. Just past the front doors was a
“Visitors Information Center.” It was a counter much
like that we see at a hospital or at a state highway
rest stop. A cheerful lady behind the counter
inquired if we were visitors and if we would fill
out a visitor’s card. She gave me a pen and I filled
it out right there and left it with her. Then we
were presented a small shopping bag that had the
name of the church printed beautifully on the front.
Inside the bag were a plastic cup with the church’s
name on it, and two refrigerator magnets with the
name, phone number and times of worship neatly
written on them. Four sheets of paper were also
included. One sheet explained the worship service,
one how to become a Christian, one the major things
the church believes and one listed 23 ministries of
the church and an encouragement to get involved. Due
to the handles on the bag, it was not cumbersome to
carry around. The bag also acted as a beacon light
to all the members, “Here are some visitors! be sure
to greet them.”
We next went to a class where we
were taught how to cultivate our friends’ interest
in spiritual thing. The sermon that followed showed
us why we should be bold in our conversations about
God.
We also learned that this church
has launched a six months effort to reach the
neighborhood for Jesus. Sonny is scheduled to preach
a meeting for this congregation November 2-7 and
they are already working to fill the house. Their
goal for is 76 conversions. This week will conclude
the initial phase of their door knocking campaign.
Their approach is simple and very un-intimidating.
They simply ask the people if they have a church
home. If thy say yes they go to the next door. If
the person says no, they ask if they could have the
family’s name and address so they can send them some
information about their church. In less than one
month they received the names and addresses of 358
families. These families will be contacted again as
this congregation works to build the attendance for
the meeting. It should be noted here that Louisville
only has a population of only 1,300. There are no
big cities near Louisville. These people are
knocking the doors of all the surrounding small
villages. One lady, in a neighboring village, said
that she had lived there for 22 years but this was
the first time anyone had ever asked her to church.
The field is ripe.
I want to encourage all who read
this blog to imitate the Louisville, IL church. Let
us start making a mark for Jesus.
