What I Should Have Said...

Yesterday, two brothers stopped by the church saying that they were looking for a new church in the area.  I intentionally didn't ask a lot of questions as to why, as often that will elicit responses that border on church gossip and I really didn't want to go down that road.

As I talked with them, one of the guys asked me, "Tell me about Grace Fellowship in a nutshell."  So I told him about our service times.  Our Small Group ministry.  I told him that we have an awesome band (which we do).  I told him about the kind of songs that we sing.  I told him about our building, and even showed him around.  I told them about our children's and youth ministries, and how cool (at least in my mind) they are.  I told him all kinds of things that we do here at Grace Fellowship (to be honest, I was feeling a little like a used car salesman).

I went back to my office to work on a few things before going home and it hit me.  I didn't really tell him who we are, and what we're trying to be and become.

So here's what I should have said...

"Grace Fellowship is about Jesus, pure and simple.  We're about reaching people with that message and seeing people connect with him, fully.  We are about fully connecting people to God, His Church, and His World.  That's Grace Fellowship in a nut shell."

Small Groups are awesome, but it they're not centered around our relationship with Jesus, they're just a group hanging out and eating snacks.  Our band is awesome and they lead us in some awesome songs, but if those songs aren't pointing people to Jesus, it's just a concert.  Our children's ministry is awesome and a lot of fun, but if it's not helping a child connect to Jesus, it's just glorified babysitting.  Our building is really cool, and inviting, but if it's not filled with people who love Jesus and want to welcome guests into a relationship with Jesus, then we're no different than any other social club in town.  People say that Tim's preaching is awesome and really speaks to them (which it is, and does), but if people aren't taking the next step towards Jesus, what are we accomplishing?