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    One Church to Reach 20,000 People for Christ THIS YEAR?!

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    One Church to Reach 20,000 People for Christ THIS YEAR?!

    Huh?  That's just not possible.  But wait... maybe it is!

    Check this out from The Baptist Standard:

    Iglesia Bautista West Brownsville dreams big—so big that the members set a goal to see 20,000 people place their faith in Christ this year. And they expect to surpass that goal within the next few weeks.
    The 2,000-member congregation isn’t set on winning souls for the sake of numbers but to make disciples who will reproduce themselves wherever they are, Pastor Carlos Navarro said.

    To accomplish that objective, church members share the gospel by hosting block parties, providing free breakfast to people crossing the border each morning, sending missionaries and mission teams to Latin American countries, ministering to the sick through a weekly health clinic and living out the Great Commission in all they do.

    “Since I came here in 1993, I set goals every year in the soul-winning effort,” Navarro said. “We started with a goal of 1,000. Then we went to 2,000. We were increasing it by 1,000 each year.”

    To reach 20,000 in one year may seem unattainable and unrealistic to some, but the church said it is possible—and likely.

    In tallying results of their witnessing efforts, the church includes people who come to faith in Christ through direct interaction with West Brownsville members, whether in a worship service at the church or through international missions where they serve alongside local churches in Latin America or through personal evangelism done in day-to-day life.

    Many of these believers have been baptized into the West Brownsville church, but many have joined churches in their hometowns or back in their home countries.

    Much of this growth came as every member in the church took seriously the task of sharing the gospel, Navarro said. The church stresses that it is each Christian’s responsibility to witness, not just the responsibility of the church staff or leadership.

    “I don’t just tell them how to do it, but I show them how to do it,” Navarro said. “I created that environment before I came. I did it with my wife and two kids first. And as soon as I accepted the invitation as the pastor, I went out by myself because the church wasn’t use to doing this. Since I went ahead of them, they now do it gladly when they see it.”

    On average, the church sees 1,200 people a month accept Christ through ministries at the church and along the Rio Grande, as well as through mission partnerships in South America. By late September, the church had seen 18,300 come to Christ this year, with about 70 percent of those decisions happening in Texas.

    More here...

    What do you think?

    Todd

    Comments

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    1. Leonard on Wed, September 30, 2009

      I LOVE IT!!!

    2. kitchen Waste Bins UK on Wed, September 30, 2009

      Nicee! i like it

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