Aim at becoming the Most Loving Church – Activate Part 1
Activate, is a series intended for pastors and ministry leaders to help us think, serve and shepherd healthier, more effective churches.
It’s all about love!
Jesus declared, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ c 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ d
Matthew 22:37–39 (BSB)
Love is attractive! If we are truly loving, there will be so many people coming to our churches that we can’t keep the doors shut even if we wanted to! The biggest question we should be thinking about is how to become more loving.
People feel loved when we show interest into their lives, ask questions and listen intently and this should not be just the pastor, it should be the church culture that many people would greet, shake hands, give a hug and stop to talk with anyone who comes to visit us.
People feel loved when we offer a safe place to share. People carry a lot of guilt and shame. There is great healing when a person can share that burden with someone who will love them, pray for them, encourage them, keep it confidential and treat them gently with mercy. Notorious sinners, thieves and prostitutes loved to be close to Jesus. Are we loving the homeless, drug addicts or people who work in the “adult entertainment industry”?
Questions
Q1) On 1 to 10 how loving and welcoming our church is?
Q2) How could we be more loving?
Q3) What people groups or types of people do you struggle to love?
Application: Please ask God to change your heart so that you can love the people you struggle to love dearly!
Text by Micah
Scripture quotations.
There are many good English Bible translations that are easy to read and understand such as New International Version® (NIV®) and New Living Translation (NLT). In this page we have chosen to use Berean Standard Bible since the text is available in public domain.
Scripture quotations marked (BSB) are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
You can read NIV® for free here.