Matthew 11:4-5
Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
When you look at the type of people that Jesus reached, you will find a very diverse crowd. Jesus’ church was not a museum church of people who seemed to have everything together, but His church was a diverse church filled with people who were broken by sin and life. The verse above shows part of the diversity of Jesus’ church. His church had the blind who received sight, the lame who could walk again, the lepers who were cleansed, the deaf who were hearing again, and the living whom He raised from the dead. If Jesus had these types of people in His church, that means He went after them before He changed their lives.
I want you to notice that these diverse people would have never had their lives changed had Jesus not gone after them. Jesus fixed the problems of these diverse people because only He can change life’s problems. Jesus was more concerned with fixing problem people than He was with having a museum church to show off to His contemporaries. I’m afraid that Jesus’ church would not have been one that many would want in today’s society because of the diversity of people that He brought in.
One of the common statements I hear when people visit Maranatha Baptist Church, the church that I pastor, is that they have never seen a church so diverse. One reason God is blessing MBC is because we are going after any type of person because every person needs the Gospel. MBC is diverse in every way. MBC is filled with business people as well as the homeless. We are filled with a drive-in crowd as well as people who ride a bus to church. We have people of every race who are welcome in our church because God can save every soul. We have people who have a clean police record, and we have people who are felons but are trying to turn their lives around. We have made a concerted effort at MBC to reach any person if they are willing to be reached, and that is why God has blessed our church.
You can't fix people who are “perfect” in their own minds; however, you can use God’s Word to fix people who know they are broken and need God’s help. There are people in your city who would come to your church if you are willing to bring them to your church. As I write this devotional, it is an early Sunday morning. I received a text from an individual late Saturday night who said they would come to our church if I could pick them up. Guess what I am going to do this morning? I am going to pick them up. Why? Because they have a soul, and it could be today that God’s Word helps this individual’s life to be turned around.
My friend, if you are willing to have as diverse a church of broken people as Jesus did, you will have no problem in filling your church. Get over the concern of what people think about your church and be concerned with people getting saved and lives being cleaned up from sin. There are plenty of people in your town who would come to your church if you would simply invite them to come. Do they have issues? Yes, but those issues will never be fixed without God’s Word. In your city are enough broken lives that could fill your church if you will go after them. Stop worrying about the model you are trying to reach and just reach souls.