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Doing Ministry Like Jesus
The life and ministry of Jesus Christ was marked by two distinct approaches to engaging people: come and see; go and love. Jesus often invited people to come to him.
He personally invited his disciples to follow and he preached before great crowds of listeners. People came to Jesus.
He also spent time going out to where the people were—serving them and sharing the Kingdom with them. He went from town-to-town ministering to the poor and sick, and
he ate in the homes of common people. He met people where they were.
The Church best reflects the heart of Jesus Christ when it exercises both of these principles in reaching the world.
The church must have an attractional quality that is inviting and welcoming. The Church is responsible for providing a place of biblical teaching, healing, worship and prayer,
fellowship, and discipleship. The church is a refuge in the world whose doors must be held open wide so that all may come and see.
The church must also emulate Jesus with a willingness to send its people out—to disciple and release them to meet people where they are. This externally focused model
equips and empowers its people, and then points them outside of the walls of the church to love, serve, and evangelize their community and the world.
Just as two wings on an airplane are necessary for flight, both the attractional and the externally focused ministry elements are necessary for following Christ’s example
and fulfilling his great commission.
Journey Outward
Like many churches, Crossroads has a strong legacy of being an attractional church. We have extensive programming and large events that support the come and see model of
ministry. We believe it’s a sign of a healthy church, and it’s a good foundation upon which to build an external focus to our ministry.
The Journey Outward phrase and logo simply remind us of our responsibility to reach out as individual Christ-followers and as his church. It directs us to journey outward
with our faith, away from the church campus, and to love and serve people everywhere and to tell them about Jesus as we go.
Explore Community Outreach
Explore Global Outreach
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