Organic Outreach Can Unify Your Church
Loriana Sekarski
Loriana Sekarski is the founder and president of BONSAI, a consulting company that transforms leaders (and businesses) into the best version of themselves. Outside of BONSAI, Loriana serves as an adjunct professor at Washington University's graduate student program. Additionally, she's fine-tuning her passion project, TakeFlight, a program that addresses domestic abuse within the Christian community.
I talked with a pastor a month ago, and he shared that his most significant concern is unity in the church. He disclosed that his close circle of pastor friends also saw this as their greatest challenge. With the election this month, unity continues to be on the minds of many.
There is nothing more unifying than a common goal. Jesus gave the disciples one Great Commission. He didn’t divide it up among the group – He called ALL of us to share this same purpose.
When a winning team takes the field, they must leave their baggage, interpersonal conflicts, worries, etc., aside and join forces toward that one common goal. For those in the military, their lives depend on everyone uniting on one mission.
Our call to unity
Please take a quick journey with me and imagine the possibilities if each of our churches found unity in a shared goal. What would it look like if your ministry teams or entire congregations:
- Focused on the Great Commission?
- Intertwined and aligned their hearts, words, and actions with the gospel mission?
- Sought ways to serve those outside the church together humbly, but also with more intensity?
- Focused on God’s righteousness and His desire for all to know Him, rather than on their personal desire to be correct?
This is the journey toward unity! This is the singular focus we need now more than ever in our churches.
Organic Outreach helps us naturally and intentionally reach out to the lost. And Organic Disciples deepen our spiritual maturity, as well as those we disciple.
Lessons from the harvest season
There is a singular focus in much of Iowa now—combining and getting the soybeans and corn to market or storage. It’s the primary conversation in stores, at church, and on the radio. Iowa grows corn, and corn grows Iowa.
And even as a non-farmer, I have my role—praying for the weather and the safety of all those involved in the harvest. Honestly, I’m not a fan of rain. I prefer snow, which doesn’t leave me soaking wet. However, I know the importance of the mission, so I prayed and rejoiced when needed rain arrived yesterday.
Staying focused on the goal
We can be assured Satan will attack when we are messing in his domain, so this journey isn’t for the faint of heart. Spiritual warfare will also become a factor if your people are out naturally sharing their stories and taking time to be disciples.
Yet there is two-fold good news here! First, there will be fruit and a harvest. Second, your team will be united in passionate prayer and wholehearted worship to protect the flock. Nothing unites people like being in a foxhole fighting a common enemy.
A mission gets us to focus beyond ourselves, our needs, and our wants. Organic Outreach helps us naturally and intentionally reach out to the lost. And Organic Disciples deepen our spiritual maturity, as well as those we disciple.
Now is the time to unite and rise against our common enemy. It’s harvest time! Let’s get our team on a mission and connect them with a singular focus that will delight our Lord.