Has your church fallen into the “feel-good” trap?
- The “feel-good” trap is helping people who have needs—hunger, homelessness, addictions….
- But not sharing Christ.
Do you know the name, William Booth?
- In 1852, Booth abandoned the typical church pulpit in favor of taking the Gospel directly to people in need.
- He reached out to the poor, homeless, hungry, and destitute on the streets of London, England.
- Within ten years, Booth had organized a ministry called “The Christian Mission.”
- It included over 1,000 volunteers and evangelists!
Booth’s mission reached out to thieves, prostitutes, gamblers, and drunkards.
- Many became converts to Christianity.
- Booth eventually called the movement “The Salvation Army.”
- Many of the “proper” church people persecuted the movement!
Today, The Salvation Army is active in virtually every corner of the world.
- Serving in over 100 countries.
The ministry was a brilliant idea:
- Reaching out to people in need as a platform for sharing Christ.
- People in need, like many of those in jails who are open to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Several years ago, I addressed the leaders of the Salvation Army at their headquarters in London, England.
- Why?
- Their movement had stalled.
- They were experts in helping people, but they drifted: they forgot to point people to Jesus.
A number of years ago, I consulted a Salvation Army church in the U.S.
- They were experts in feeding the poor.
- But their church was declining. They forgot to share Jesus.
This is occurring in many churches today. It feels great to help people. However, if you forget your primary purpose, you will eventually go out of business.
How is your church? Feel-good ministry without witnessing Christ?
- It just doesn’t work. Your church, eventually, will die.
Tomorrow, we look at the YMCA. If you would like to know more, you can also subscribe to my podcast on Apple Podcast and Google Play. We will expand on this theme further in our series beginning on March 6, 2018.
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