The Periodically

Image by Andrew Lamb What would it look like if your care group was all people from your neighborhood? What a powerful community that would be to partner together to reach a neighborhood together. If that is not your current reality, what if you partnered with a few key families in your neighborhood to do a Neighborhood Watch Program. Some in your neighborhood won’t come to a neighborhood gathering unless there is a purpose higher than “just getting together”. The Watch Program could be that very thing. Our family recently asked another BCC family down the street to join us to helping to get together a Neighborhood Watch informational meeting. We also asked another family in our neighborhood to help. We had a great turn out and while we were there, a group decided to plan a neighborhood block party. Both events have tied our neighborhood relationally together and give believing families entry ways into the gospel. We printed off a google map of the neighborhood and now h...

Here are some more thoughts for you on ways to apply my previous posts on evangelism. I’ve often heard care group leaders say they’d like to have a way for their care group to do a service project of some kind. Here are are two ideas for you to consider that can lead to not just physical work but gospel proclamation as well (Note: if you are not in a care group, keep reading, and you can adapt this idea for you.) 1. Make meals together (indirect servant evangelism) Get together and make freezer meals together for our benevolence ministry. BCC often gets calls from those in our community who are in financial need. The looks on their faces are priceless when they come to our offices to get a financial gift and discover that we have a meal or two for them as well. These meals are also used for those inside the church when needed. Let me know if you need recipe ideas as others at BCC have gathered to do this in the past. 2. Neighborhood Service Project (direct serva...

How can a Christian use Halloween to build relationships in their neighborhood that lead to sharing the gospel? Here are some ideas... First thing first. Here is what John Piper, former pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minnesota, said when asked about his perspective on Halloween: "It's kind of one of those questions of, 'Do you see Christ against culture, Christ in culture, or Christ over culture?’  I would guess that at our church there would be people from one end of the perspective to the other.  That is, some who would say, 'We don't want anything to do with that demonic holiday! Why would you even be involved with that at all?' And others who would have their children dress up as a butterfly and go knocking on doors and say, "Trick or treat!" And then in the middle would be people who do counter events, like a thing at the church where you dress up like biblical characters and have a great time. I would hope tha...

Continuing from my first two posts, as we remember the gospel, here is another reason why all believers are called to joyfully share God’s plan of redemption with the lost world: a love for the Lord.  Have you ever considered this? Evangelism is a way we are able to express our love for God in a way we won’t be able to in heaven. What a joy that He allows us to do that! What a joy to do that as a part of our purpose in life--to glorify God!  The goal of a believer’s life is to glorify God. Everything exists for His glory! So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.  (1 Corinthians 10:31)  So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.  (2 Corinthians 5:9)  For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:36)  Our salvation is for His glory! 5  he predestined us for adoption as sons ...

Continuing from my first post, as we remember the gospel, here is another reason why all believers are called to joyfully share God’s plan of redemption with the lost world: a love for those who do not yet know Christ. What does a love for the unsaved look like? It means being willing to lovingly and graciously b e willing to offend. According to the Scriptures, the unsaved  will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might (2 Thessalonians 1:9).  The anguish of the rich man is real (Luke 16:23-24). Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Meditate with deep solemnity upon the fate of the lost sinner…when you get up early to go to the place where you commune with God, cast an eye toward Sodom and see the smoke thereof going up like the smoke of a furnace. Shun all views of future punishment which would make it appear less terrible, and so take off the edge of your anxiety to save immortals fro...

It is certainly a privilege to be the first writer on the Bethany Community Church blog. They say that if you want a sure fire way to guilt your congregation, talk about prayer or evangelism. My hope is that my part of these blog posts on evangelism will not heap any guilt on you, but instead, what you read will motivate you to see the joy of reaching your neighbors for Christ. Additionally, I hope to give you some good ideas for how to reach your neighbors. The thoughts in my posts are from a recent men's breakfast and adapted from Pastor Mark Dever, and at times, I am not sure what is from Dever and what are my thoughts. Let's assume if you are reading good stuff, it was from Dever. Consider the following statement: The more you meditate on the gospel, the easier evangelism will become to you. I certainly agree. The fault of many posts on evangelism is to motivate the church to evangelism through guilt with statements like “God has done so much for you; w...