I see most of the national social problems as the direct result of a lack of the Church (universal) reaching enough individuals for Christ and teaching them to obey everything that Jesus commanded. If the Church had followed the Great Commandment seriously, we would not be in the position of the growing prosecution of believers in America. We would not be in the position where politicians are stealing the rights of believers to express their faith freely any where in the country. We would not be in the position where there is a lot of discussion about the separation of church and state. If a lack of carrying out the Great Commission is how we got in this fix, then a revival of the Great Commission is how we will solve the problem. We need to unit as ONE CHURCH for the purpose of carrying out the Great Commission. It is each local church working with other local churches to reach individuals for Christ. It works the same way as it did in the first century church. When we see enough new believers added to the kingdom of God, then we will see a major change in the spiritual climate of our nation. This is dealing with the root of the problem. I am not against lobbying for Christian rights; I think this is very necessary. But could you imagine what would happen if we spent the same amount of money, time, and strategy development on leading the unchurched people in our nation to Christ, and then discipling them to become strong, fully engaged Christians. We wouldn't need the lobbying groups because the spiritual climate of the entire nation would be changed. God has given me an opportunity to see my part of this dream come true. I am humbled that God chose to use me to develop Kingdom's Visitor Retention Program. It amazes me how effective it is already with helping churches reach the unchurch, keep them, and disciple them. I am looking forward to seeing what God is going to do with the many churches that are signing up for the program now. Jerry Hartman

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  • I love your Dream, Jerry!

    I am in total agreement that we need to unite as ONE CHURCH. To add new believers we absolutely need to have a "single mindedness". Which makes me start thinking (stand back!) how I (the individual) can "represent"... which, in turn, takes me to memories of my Army days when we had to pass inspection by our Commander before we were allowed on the field for a pass and review. BUT FIRST we had to check ourselves, had others check us, we checked them, we did it again for good measure, THEN the Commander checked all of us before the General got to see us out on the field...

    ...but I digress ... my point was going to be: when the unbelievers see us, they see individuals, not a complete and perfect church. So if my shoes are scuffed and my brass is dull.. well, you get the picture. (I could blame myself, my peers, my commander, etc, but the point is, my blimishes weren't caught and cared for)

    We need the "one church" for so many reasons, none of which I am about to address :-O (you did a great job of that anyway!).

    In the past month a single scripture has echoed through my daily life and has been re-appearing in sermons I hear and media I read: 1 Peter 2:12 - Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."

    When we get off our pews and into our lives, this is where we need to live the Great Commission (this is where the rubber meets the road). It's pretty normal for Christians to attract other Christians. We love to be with likeminded. We crave the encouragement, the idea sharing and the growth. But that's not our purpose. It's fuel for our purpose and comfort in our time of renewal.

    So if we're to reach the unsaved (the pagans), we have to ask ourselves a basic question to start....

    Who are My pagans and what do they see when they look at my life?

    -------
    Oh, I also meant to ask you to point me to the retention program, if you can. I would really enjoy learning from it.
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