Oscar Garza Bible Study

THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH

VISION, COMMITMENT TO LAUNCH THE MOST BIBLICAL, SPIRIT-LED, HEALTHY, EVANGELISTIC

☒ Pray for the ministry in your church, for your church overall.

☐ Impact our community (Advertise to the community about our church)

☐ Evangelize publicly in different ways to get people to come to church.

☐ “We should NEVER get disappointed with the honor of working with God to help people come to Christ, and the fresh birthing of NEW ministries and NEW churches.”

☐ Do we have a broken heart for the people that are not reached?

☐ “Our continent is starving for the hope of the gospel of Christ.”

10 REASONS WHY WE SHOULD BE A PART OF A CHURCH STARTING EFFORT (PRAYFULLY)

1. NORTH AMERICA IS IN DESPERATE NEED FOR MORE CHURCHES

☐ Why does America need more churches?

☒ DATA on how America needs new churches: Research shows that 200 million people are non-churched people in America. (Our country is one of the largest un-reached in the world.) (1)

“The American church is in the midst of one of the largest mission fields in the world today. Only 3 other countries are more lost, China, India, and Indonesia.” – Author Justice Anderson (1)

☐ In 1987, # of evangelicals in Asia surpassed the # of evangelicals in North America.

In 1991, # of evangelicals in Asia surpassed the # of evangelicals in the entire Western World. (2)

In spite of American Megachurches, no county in our nation has a greater church population than it did 10 years ago. (3)

☐ During the last 10 years, combined communicant membership of all Protestant denominations declined by 9.5% (4,498,242) while the national populations increased by 11.4% (24,153,000) (4)

In 1990, 20.4% of Americans attended church on any given Sunday. By 2000, only 18.7% attended church. This percentage is still on decline.

Dave Olson’s Research, recent increase in the number of churches is only about 1/8 of what is needed to keep up with population growth. (5)

Churches in America have increased by 50% in last century, the population has increased a staggering 300%. (6)

Now 60% fewer churches per 10,000 Americans than they were in 1920.

(7) How many churches in each year per Americans

Year # of churches Per Americans

1920 27 10,000

1950 17 10,000

1996 11 10,000

2. NORTH AMERICA IS RAPIDLY BECOMING A POST-CHRISTIAN NATION

☐ Times have changed, theirs many other religions around. (Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, etc.)

Christian values are quickly disappearing from our culture.

Culture has become less welcoming to Judeo-Christian principles that are the bedrock of our nation.

Hostile to Christianity

Less evangelical Christians in our culture.

“People in our culture are not antichurch; they simply view the church as Irrelevant to their lives.” – Dr. Aubrey Malphurs (Dallas Theological Seminary) (8)

IMPORTANT to plant new churches, and to have a church that presents the timeless truths of the gospel in a new and timely manner.

We must put new wine in wineskins, a new army of well trained, well taught effective Christians.

3. “THE SINGLE MOST EFFECTIVE EVANGELISM METHODOLOGY UNDER HEAVEN IS PLANTING NEW CHURCHES.” – PETER WAGNER (PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL HARVEST)

☐ An American Denomination recently found that 80% of its converts came to Christ in churches less than 2 years old. (11)

Baptism rates for new churches are 3 to 10 times higher than existing churches.

15 plus year of age church’s win average of only 3 people to Christ per year for every 100 Church members.

Churches between 3-15 years old win average of 5 people to Christ per year for every 100 church members.

Churches less than 3 years of age win an average of 10 people to Christ per year for every 100 church members. (12)

After a person gets saved, they generally have a network of unchurched friends they want to evangelize. (They either reach them or no longer spend that much time with them.)

4. THE GREAT COMMISSION IS CHURCH BUILDING AND PLANTING (MATTHEW 28:18-20, MARK 16:15-16, LUKE 24:46-48, JOHN 20:21. ACTS 1:8)

☐ Churches, church planting involves all the elements of fulfilling the Great Commission.

New Testament Christians planted more New Testament churches.

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How did the first followers carry out the Great Commission? Peter and others preached the gospel (Acts 2:14-36) People were baptized (Acts 2:37-41) and the baptized believers were IMMEDIATELY incorporated into the life of obeying what Jesus taught. (Acts 2: 42-47)

5. CHURCHES AND CHURCH PLANTING EXPANDS THE KINGDOM OF GOD

☐ Top priority of our lives is to be God’s kingdom (Matthew 6:33)

Pray for the coming kingdom of God. (Matthew 6:9-10)

Unless someone is born again, he cannot see it. (John 3:3-7)

Church growth doesn’t equal growth in the kingdom of God.

6. CHURCH AND CHURCH PLANTING IS BEING ON A MISSION WITH GOD

☐ The word “mission” was used to describe the acts of God rather than the activities of churches. It’s not something the church does but that God does. The church getting in sync with the heart of God.

“God’s nature is at the root of mission. The living God sends.”

“The church exists by mission, just as fire exists by burning.” – Swiss Theologian Emil Brunner

7. CHURCHS AND CHURCH PLANTING BRINGS THE HANDS AND HEART OF JESUS INTO THE LIVES OF NEEDY PEOPLE

☒ Word became flesh, act out what you say.

8. “BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY”

God’s first command in the bible (Gen 1:22) for plants, to produce more plants. For Adam and Eve, more children. Churches, more churches.

9. STORM THE GATES (MATTHEW 16:18)

2 Questions:

If not you, Who?

If not now, when?Page 3

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NOTESEarley, Dave, and David A. Wheeler. Evangelism Is--: How to Share Jesus with Passion and Confidence. Nashville, Tenn.: B & H Academic, 2010. Print.

Holy Bible New King James Version, Black, Imitation Leather, Gift & Award Bible. Holman Bible Pub, 2013. Print.

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