I would like to challenge churches across this nation to leave their buildings and preach the Gospel. Jesus and His apostles may have preached in the temple but they also preached and taught at city gates, lake-sides and mountaintops. It is wonderful for churches to feed their own people but many people will not go to a church’s building so the Gospel must go to them.
In the church, we tend to hold events and conferences, write books and have podcasts to spread the truth. These are great tools but what about wading into humanity and just simply speaking the Gospel? Unchain the Gospel from asking for money. No tickets, no reservations, no cost, no donations. It costs nothing but time to speak.
The simple Gospel over and over again. Telling people how they do not have to live in addiction, disease, anger, malice, deceit or basically anything that is not freedom, joy and peace. Tell them Jesus is the way and the only way out of all of it. Tell them that Jesus loves them no matter what they have done, no matter who they are. Proclaim the Truth that Jesus Christ came to our world in flesh and died a horrific death on a Roman cross by the wishes of the religious leaders. He did that out of his love to pay for the sin of every person to ever exist upon the face of the Earth. After three days he rose from the grave, appeared to his disciples and hundreds of other people. He is alive. We only need to accept Him, follow Him.
This is why one of the most famous Bible verses is John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Verse 17 follows with “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” That whole chapter is awesome. The Bible is the living, breathing Word of God. II Timothy 3:16-17.
Be men and women of love, men and women of courage. Speak the Gospel and see the power of God descend.
Author: Janna Swanson
Janna Swanson helps her husband Paul farm in NW Iowa with their two young daughters. Since 2013 Janna has volunteered her time and energy for her community. She was a key member of the Preservation of Rural Iowa Alliance that protected landowners from the Rock Island Clean Line. From there she helped start and facilitated the grassroots group, The Coalition for Rural Property Rights to help protect community members from industrial wind installations. She is also a board member of National Wind Watch, a 25-year online collection of information of the industrial wind opposition from around the world. Most importantly Janna is a follower of Christ and seeks to help others to know and understand Him. Yet because she is also seeking deepening her own knowledge and understanding she welcomes critical, constructive debate. No one has the corner on truth, we all see “through a glass, darkly”. (I Corinthians 13:12)
