Going All In

Forty percent of Americans say they attend church regularly, but only twenty percent actually do.  A healthy percentage of the twenty percent show up with a “wow me” attitude. Even fewer participate in church beyond worship and only a tiny percent are willing to lead others. In the summer months approaching, attendance is so bad that many pastors shut down or greatly reduce activities so as not to waste resources. 

 If we are ever going to make a difference, we need to change our attitude about our faith and start going all in. 

At the beginning of each Kairos weekend, we tell the participants the following story: A farmer was walking down the road carrying a bag of wheat. The King came along and greeted him. He asked the farmer for some of his wheat. The farmer reached into his sack and pulled out a single grain, hoping the King would find that sufficient. The King took the grain then pulled out a sack of gold coins and gave the farmer one gold coin. The King went on his way leaving the farmer wondering what would have happened if he had given the King the whole sack.

We all know that we get proportionately to what we put in. (This might not be true about taxes but that’s another story.) Isn’t it time we start going all in? Here are some ideas about how to increase your participation in the Christian adventure.

1. Attend more than just Sunday worship. Every church provides more opportunities to participate than just on Sunday. Dive in.

2. Come to church on Sunday filled up rather than empty. Read the word during the week. Reach out to others. Talk about Jesus. Stop thinking about church as simply a place to get refreshed and start thinking about doing some refreshing. 

3. Pray for your church staff and for church services. By lifting up your churches staff and the services that are held, these things become more important to you and a greater focus of your life. Plus prayer works.

4.  Bring a friend. If the church service you attend isn’t something you would want to share with a friend, then you need to change churches. If the church service and the people you worship are a blessing to you, why are you being so selfish and keeping all that blessing to yourself. 

Don’t just be a cultural or private or professing christian, be active and be blessed.

Nick