Day 3: Experience Purpose
Read Matthew 28:16-20
“Go therefore and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19)
When a church has a capital campaign, everyone seems to have the same kind of questions – What kind of building are we looking for (from scratch or renovating an existing building)? What will the building look like? What color will the carpet be? What am I going to get out of this? What is my part to play? Fundamentally, all of those “what” questions are far and away from the least important questions to ask. The most crucial question in a capital campaign challenge is not what, but WHY.
Why are we looking for our own facility? Why is Clarity Church here? Why am I here?
No church builds a structure just to have a beautiful building – at least they shouldn't. No person makes a sacrificial financial commitment just to get some kind of service or program benefit.
People – and churches – do not give their lives, their resources, or themselves to a building or a program, or so they can “be bigger.” What people will give their lives to is the ability to embrace a God-given purpose, and a higher calling. So the most important question to answer is not, “What are we trying to do?” but, “WHY are we doing it??
Why is our church doing these things? In other words, what does God call this church to be and to do? What is the purpose God calls you to? What is the mission God has called Clarity Church to? And how does this capital campaign provide tools to help our Church respond to that calling?
The last commandment Jesus spoke for every Christian was, “Go…make disciples of all nations…teaching them all that I have commanded you.” Every church and every Christian has a God-given purpose. Why are we building? To be and to do what God calls us to be and to do. This focus is not merely about buildings or finances. This focus is about gaining a heart for reaching and teaching and changing the lives of people with the good news of Jesus Christ.
The resources raised will provide the necessary tools to help us better reach, better teach, and more effectively prepare and empower us to increasingly learn what it means to re-purpose our rhythms so that those disconnected from God can experience the life-changing power of the Gospel of Jesus with clarity.
Do you remember how you needed Christ? Do you remember how your life has been reached, taught, changed by the witness and ministries of a community of faith -- whether it was this church or another? Would you like for other people to have a story of faith to tell and a purpose for their lives? Their stories depend now on your faithfulness.
Prayer: Lord, grow my passion for your purposes in my life and my church. You have brought me here for a reason. Show me what you would do through me.
Action Item: Make a list of WHY you believe this capital campaign is important. Think of how many people within Clarity’s circle of influence need Jesus? Can you put a value on what seeing those people embrace the life-changing power of the Gospel in their own life may be worth? When you focus on the WHY question, how important does this initiative become for you?