Please DON’T Join Our Church

Over the past 4 years, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to convince people to join our church. I’ve visited homes, went to dinners and scheduled meetings trying to persuade someone to become a member. Eventually, they join our church, attend for a week or two and then they are never seen again.

I shared in yesterday’s sermon that I don’t want anymore members. I have memberships to CVS, Food Lion, Netflix and O2 Fitness. I use them when I need them and ignore them when they offer no value to me. I have no loyalties to these companies. When I want to switch gyms, it’s no big deal. If I want to shop at Walmart, Food Lion is a distant memory. This is how many people approach church membership.

I have reached the point where I am looking for owners, not members. Every Sunday in September from 10-11AM, I will be teaching a class for anyone interested in becoming an owner of the RTPCC vision. Our vision is to lead people to a better future (Luke 10).

Actually after yesterday’s message, ten people responded to the call. Here are ten reasons I’m praying for owners rather than members:

• Members have rights, owners have responsibilities.
• Members come and go, owners have a vested interest.
• Members are spectators, owners are participators.
• Members are takers, owners are investors.
• Owners know that Jesus gave His life for the church (Ephesians 5:27), so they give their lives to Him.
• Owners see their church vision statement as more than just a catch phrase and realize it is a compelling call from God for everyone to answer.
• Owners see their local church as a gift from God.
• Owners know that God has called them to make a difference.
• Owners are spiritually involved in their church.
• Owners are physically involved in their church. They are not afraid to sweat or get their hands dirty.
• Owners are financially involved. They realize that nothing they have is something God needs but everything they have is something He can use (click here to make a contribution to RTPCC).

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Mark your calendars for the following RTPCC events: