Hello, this is Chris! It is with great honor that I introduce my wife Crystal again to you as she has more to say. Without further ado, here she is:

We live in a world that makes time for what it deems important. A few weekends ago, Chris and I were able to go to an Oklahoma Sooners Football game against the Maine Black Bears. This was an interesting game for several reasons: both teams were 4-4 on the season and the game time was moved up due to the potential of bad weather. I heard from many locals that the crowd would be smaller due to the weather, the change in game time and the teams performance so far.

I could not help but make a connection to people, the Church and issues facing ministry. (Pastor problems)

You see, despite all the talk of small crowds, there were about 68,000 people in attendance that Saturday at the OU football stadium. This is not just about this specific organization or fanbase, but all other sports events on a weekly basis. People give up multiple hours or even full days to these events. They will face weather challenges, monetary issues, traffic, scheduling conflicts and many other difficulties and challenges to overcome to be in that stadium. On that Saturday despite all of the issues, the stadium was a sea of red.

How can stadiums be filled for sporting events, concerts and even rallies, yet it is difficult to fil a church on a Sunday morning? This is a hard truth to accept but here it goes: people make time for what is important! Sports teams, musicians/comedians political candidates; people make time for these things they deem important. Just as with any relationship, people will make time for you if they deem you and your relationship important. So, the question then becomes why is church and a relationship with Jesus not deemed important by so many?

I am not sure I have the answers to that question. I do have some thoughts that I will save for another day. Here is what I know: God wants to save all of His children. God wants His children once they make the decision for a relationship and salvation(personal faith) that they (we) become partners with Him in His mission.

1 Peter 2:9 states: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession” As Christ followers we are all called to engage with God on mission.

There are 6.5 billion people who are not followers of Jesus. There are 5,000,000 local churches with 700,000,000 Christ followers. The laborers are not really few. Let me break it down another way. There are 714 local churches for every 1 lost reached people. There is 1 Christ followers for every 10 non believers. God’s mission is more doable today than at any other time in history. We believers need to act and mobilize for mission.

This requires mission Al living. This does not require what many people think that it does. You do not have to leave your country, state, county, city or community. Build relationships within your sphere of influence. You need to love God and love people.