Sunday, January 3, 2010

Quotables Day 5

With a one day pause in blogging due to great friends from Florida visiting, we are back.

"If I had 300 men who feared nothing but God, hated nothing but sin, and were determined to know nothing among men but Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, I would set the world on fire."

-John Wesley

When I think about the number of people that are not Christ-followers it can be a bit overwhelming.  There are approximately 24,000 people here in Milledgeville.  As Mike and I talked a few months ago he estimated that 20% of the people in our area are actually churched.  That leaves around 19,000 people that are not currently being reached for Christ-and that doesn't include the population in the close surrounding areas. The normal weekend here at Northridge has between 600-650 people.  The task of reaching out and sharing the truth that matters can be daunting in the face of those numbers. 

We are talking about workers for the harvest today at Northridge and challenging people to beat the 80/20 principle of serving (20% of the people doing 80% of the work.)  It is a statement, such as one made by John Wesley, that inspires me and lets me know that our efforts in the pursuit of God's glory can have a great impact. 

I have seen what happens when people are passionate about God's purpose in their lives and committed fully to reaching others.  I have been fortunate to be a part of churches that understood that principle and grew by leaps and bounds.  I have watched as teens became intensely focused on reaching their peers and as a result had youth ministries double, triple & quadruple.  I have seen parents pulling up on a weekend or midweek with a van full of youth & children-most of them not their own-bringing them to expose them to God's love.  I have cheered as parents have baptized their children, children have baptized their parents, and friends have baptized each other.

The question isn't whether our passion for God will be fruitful.  It is a question of whether we will fully throw ourselves into a pursuit of Him for our sake and the souls of those around us.

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