Up’ing Your Game

Pastor Jason said a statistic that really caught my attention this
morning. He said that only 20% of the people in Warren County attend
worship - on any given Sunday. That number is not just Christian
worship...it is all faith systems. I was thinking, "Wow, that is a lot of people that don’t worship Jesus each week." It seems there are two main reasons people don’t come to church 1) because they don’t have a relationship with Jesus; or 2) they are believers and they choose not to go to church.

During the missions conference yesterday, Dr. Sills said that you are
either a missionary or an impostor. Yikes. That is strong. It is
true though. Believers are called to be missionaries (Matthew 28:19,
20). No options are given. If you believe in Jesus Christ, you must
pursue missions. It is not a program. It is a lifestyle. So when
our feet hit the ground...we are in the mission field.

Dr. Sills said that it took Coca Cola only 113 years for 94% of the
world to recognize the Coca Cola logo. He also shared that although believers have had the Great Commission for over 2000 years, 2 billion people still haven't heard the name of Jesus. Hmmmm. Makes one think...there are more people that know Coke than Christ. The Kingdom of God needs people stepping up their “game.” Are we impostors or are we sharing what we know about Jesus?

Pastor Jason has been challenging the congregation each week about
being active in our faith and sharing Jesus with others. Today he
communicated about how we need to be active in politics (local and
national). Believers need to be voting what we believe. We also need Christian men and women to be active in all areas of our government, schools, and city.

Big challenges today...are you ready to “Up Your Game!”?

Pastor Jeff Carlisle, Missions Pastor

"This is an Emergency”

We have an emergency here on Earth. It is a challenge, as Christians, to fear Hell and share with others about the Savior who can keep them from Hell. It is a challenge of evangelism that not only reaches to the people next door, but to the farthest stretches of the earth. It is a global emergency, one that Christians should warn everyone about.

My name is Emily Harrod- I’m a sophomore Elementary Education/ESL major at WKU, and I love being involved in the College Ministry at Living Hope! The College Ministry has been such a great way to respond to the global emergency of winning people to Christ. Even this past weekend, several college students participated in Trunks of Treats by creating “Bible Story Lane” to walk children through the story of the Bible, sharing how each story ultimately points to Jesus. We were able to share the Gospel with so many children and their parents!

The College Ministry redefined evangelism for me. Evangelism comes in many forms- it can mean dressing up like a “wee little man” so children will know the story of Zacchaeus and see that God loves all people. Evangelism can mean investing in an international student with a completely different worldview. It can even mean giving up a summer, winter, or spring break from classes to travel across the world and evangelize to the unreached people groups. Whatever the case, we have been encouraged to evangelize during this unique time in our lives!

After the sermon we heard Sunday on the challenge of evangelism, my heart was burning for the people I met while serving in Asia this summer. I cannot wait to go back one day and continue the work the Lord has given to me. Until then, however, we have been encouraged to channel that motivation into our classmates and friends here on our college campus, and to simply pray for those in the unreached countries. Live like there is an emergency wherever you are, in every situation!

“I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me, the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”- Acts 20:24