Who Lives In Your City?

Posted on 28. May, 2010 by frank in faith

As I settle into my new home here in Rochester I find myself burdened with trying to figure out who lives in our city.  I think its so important to know who God has called us to reach.  As pastors and teachers we encourage missionaries to do their research and embed themselves in a foreign culture to reach the people they are called by God to serve.  They learn the language, change the way they dress, change what they eat, identify the local customs, and go to great lengths to connect with the culture of the people God has called them to.

As Christians, shouldn’t we do the same? Shouldn’t I try to learn as much as possible about the people that are lost in my city? As church leaders why aren’t we as intentional as our missionaries?  Just because we have a building doesn’t mean people are going to show up and find Jesus.  We have to know them, we have to live with them, we have to understand them, we have to connect with them.  Jesus was accused of being a friend of sinners, a glutton, and a drunkard.  Not because he ate too much, or drank too much, or jumped into a lifestyle of sin.  No, it happened because he chose to intentionally connect with the culture around him and introduce lost people to the things of God.

That is what I want to do.  I want to be intentional,  invitational, and relational with my faith.  As a leader it is not going to be easy and I think Jesus’ life demonstrated just that.  He was accused of living like a sinner and some even thought he was demon possessed because of the miracles that began to happen.

I live in a great city.  I get the privilege of serving people in a city that is built to serve others in need. Every year Rochester welcomes 2.7 million visitors, many of those are due to the Mayo Clinic.  Probably because the Mayo is consistently listed as one of the best hospitals in the world.  However, to serve the people that live here I need to be as intentional as a missionary.