What's the point of church? Why are you passionate about the ministry?

Why would we have 40 people on staff, work like race horses, spend time, money, energy, prayer to deliver weekend services that connect with the hearts of believers and seekers? Why would we spend big bucks redoing our nursery, children's wing and youth rooms? Why would we make our foyer, auditorium, bookstore environments more culturally relevant? Why do we continually recruit and train our staff, lay leaders and volunteers? Why would we and hundreds of volunteers give our heart, soul and strength to the advancement of Jesus' Church on earth? Why?

Why? Because eternity is a long time!

Why focus on church growth? It would be alot easier to have a church of 100 people .. .less stuff to deal with. Less complaints. Less work. Less hassle. Smaller budget. One or two staff. Would less be more?

Church life ... such an interesting phenomenon. Is is a monument or a movement? Is it an elite club or public buffet? What the point?

The point is: Eternity is a long time!

And ... people will spend it somewhere, doing something. Every church has a different way of saying it, but most churches seem to focus on the BIG THREE! What three things impact eternity? What three things will really matter a few billion years from now? What three things is the church supposed to focus on?

The "big three" as described by various people are ...

EXALT, EDIFY, EVANGELIZE

WIN, BUILD, SEND

UPWARD, INWARD, OUTWARD

GREAT COMMANDMENT, GREAT FAITH, GREAT COMMISSION

WORSHIP, EVANGELIZE, BUILD

VERTICAL, CORE, HORIZONTAL

1. The Number One Purpose of Church: ... Lead people upward, worship God, do the Great Commandment and love God, exalt the Lord, focus on Him, go vertical! God Sensitive! So ... get into it! Heartfelt worship for the purpose of blessing the Lord God Almighty ... praise Him!
2. The Number Two Purpose of Church: ... Strenghthen people inward. Build the believers, grow in faith, strengthen the core, edify believers in the Word, in faith, in the Spirit-filled life, in God! Believer Sensitive! So ... participate in it! Classes, small groups, special meetings, weekend services loaded with the Word ... eat up!
3. The Number Three Purpose of Church: ... Focus people outward. Evangelize, win the lost, do the Great Commission, focus on horizontal relationships for God, send these believers out into the harvest! Seeker Sensitive! So ... go do it! Invite seekers to church, pray for God connections, be a light to your friends ... go ye!

Eternity is a long time ... let's maximize our now for then!

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:18, NIV)