What is Our Purpose?

Imagine a shoe manufacturing plant that has been operating for two years without ever producing shoes. Employees have been hired; safety procedures have been approved; machinery has been purchased and tested and maintained; insurance has been bought; a cafeteria has been staffed and operated; even marketing strategies and shipping procedures have been implemented. However, what is the point of all this activity if the plant doesn’t manufacture shoes?

Do you suppose we have ever been guilty of going through the motions of religion without fulfilling the very things our religion is supposed to be about? Jesus commanded His followers to “go and make disciples”! Of all the things we do as a church, if we are not doing this, we are not truly functioning as the “body of Christ”, are we? As His body, shouldn’t our main activity be bringing people to God; training them in His ways so they are equipped to stand in the battle for their soul? Shouldn’t reaching into the darkness to rescue the perishing and equipping others who already understand their need for Jesus as their Savior be our primary goals? All the church activities, charity and service projects don’t mean much if we are not helping people see their need to be in a deep bond of intimacy with God!

Indulge me in a very personal illustration for the Garden Ridge family. Suppose we had a Christian School we facilitated on our premises and a great amount of time, energy and financial backing were given to this effort. Suppose the school grew to provide training for over 200 students each year. Staff and teachers were hired; playgrounds were built and maintained; auctions were held to promote the school and to help with new programs; scholarship funds were started and maintained; etc. However, suppose the church family did not know the families who sent their children to school throughout the year and had very little contact with the students. Would they be missing out on a beautiful opportunity to fulfill Jesus’ command to go and make disciples?

Imagine if the church family became more intentional about making disciples and made efforts to make the most of a resource already easily accessible. What might happen? Suppose Life Groups adopted classes and held birthday parties and other fun activities for the students? How might that speak to their parents? Suppose children who graduated were presented with Bibles in the assembly of worship and their parents were treated as guests of honor. Consider what might happen if students were followed up on each year after they graduated to see how they were doing spiritually and if this church family could help them grow closer to God. Suppose families were contacted each semester to see if they had a church home and if there were any prayer needs they had that our church family could lift up before God for them. Imagine if parenting seminars with free babysitting were done specifically for families in the stage of life these families are at. Could these things open more doors to evangelize and train disciples?

If our purpose is to make disciples (and I firmly believe this is first and foremost what God calls us to do), then we must evaluate each ministry and activity we do as part of the body here at Garden Ridge and consider how we might make the most of the opportunities already before us. We must become more intentional about finding ways to reach out with the Good News we hold dear. God will provide the growth, but we must plant the seed! Are we ready to grow? Not if we lose sight of our purpose! There are a lot of shoeless people that need us to do our job.

What does it mean to be a disciple? Over the next several weeks my articles will provide some biblical insight into what God calls us to as disciples of Jesus. We will look at various characteristics of disciples and the process of maturation Paul prays for when writing Colossians.

-Scott