This post is part of the ongoing “Strengthening Our Nets” series. If you haven’t heard the “Ready For A Miracle” sermon, get it on iTunes, or on our feed site.
Our vision is simple… “Making the Gospel Relevant to our Community.” My last blog post described the importance and the simplicity of the Gospel. It is the “most important” part of what we do. Without it, we’re NOT teaching grace… We can only teach law.
So, what does it mean to make the Gospel relevant? Is “relevance” a church-planting buzzword that people throw around to seem hip? Well, I don’t think so. Relevance just means that you are closely connected to someone or something. Our desire is to present the Gospel on an ongoing basis in a way that is closely connected to people right where they live, so that they can see that they can closely connect to the Father through Jesus Christ.
We don’t expect people to come to the Gospel… We bring the Gospel to the people. We make it clear, simple, easy to understand, practical, and relevant to everyone possible.
You can see this example lived out throughout the New Testament.
- Jesus got in the boat with Simon, and showed himself to a group of fishermen by creating the miracle of the massive catch.
- When speaking to 1st century Jewish peasants, Jesus often used stories of farming, fishing, and family.
- Paul shared the Gospel at Mars Hill using the statues to the false gods of Athens. (Acts 17)
- Paul only preached in plain, easy to understand terms, just talking about Christ. (1 Cor. 2:1-5)
- Paul also didn’t do what he preferred… Instead, he did whatever he had to for people to come to Christ. (1 Cor. 10:33)
The way “Making the Gospel Relevant” works out on Sunday mornings is that we load lots of equipment in and out of the school auditorium, which is an easy-access, familiar and non-threatening meeting space. We put up bright signs, redress the hallways and auditorium, provide coffee, greet people with a smile, use video, play upbeat, positive music, and teach for practical application. We work hard to provide a great children’s ministry environment, and a great atmosphere for the whole family. All this combines to create an open, friendly atmosphere that draws people in, makes them feel welcome, and hopefully creates an openness to the truth of God’s love for them in Christ.
I really feel like we are hitting sort of a “sweet spot” for communicating the truth of the Gospel here in Ellijay. For now. Of course, as time goes by, our culture will continue to change the way it thinks and acts… Our methods may change over time, but the message will always stay the same.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 NLT: I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.