Going All Out For Jesus

I love good theme parks. As a kid, the one I enjoyed the most was Disneyland out in California. More recently, my family and I really enjoyed going to Celebration City in Branson before it closed down last fall. We also enjoy others, like Worlds of Fun and Silver Dollar City.

I also remember a theme park that I did not enjoy much as a child. Some may recall Dogpatch USA in northern Arkansas. It's long been shuttered up, although a recent trip to Russelville revealed that the property is still there...unused.

What's the difference between the good ones and the bad ones? Investment.

With the parks that remain popular after many years, what you discover is that the ownership invests a lot of time and money to attract millions of visitors each year. In short, ownership goes all out in an effort to get you to come for a visit. That's a principle that often times we forget in our churches.

I've attended churches and even sat in meetings where it was obvious that the most important thing was not doing what we could to reach people for Jesus. Instead, the top priority tended to be the discovery of ways to not spend all of the church's money.

Now, we could go back and forth on the importance of saving for hard times, or certain projects. There's some merit in that, although even it is debatable. But, I personally know of churches who have building funds full of cash that won't be used anytime soon, if ever. And, the thought of transferring some of that money to needed projects and ministries is unthinkable if not nearly criminal.

Unfortunately, these churches are missing out on the theme park principle. Investment is probably the single most important thing that a church can do with it's people, finances and property.

Think of it this way. A theme park will spend millions each year to attract people just for a fun time. But, the message the church holds is much more important than theme park fun, and deserves that we give it our best all the time. We may not have millions of dollars to invest in our people and church facilities, but that doesn't mean we can't give our best. That doesn't mean that we can't take the money we have and invest it in ways to reach people with Jesus' message.

If I've convinced you of the need for investment, let me point you in a direction to invest. Statistics have proven over and over that the easiest group to reach for Jesus are children. The most difficult group is seniors. Yet, in some churches, money is poured into senior activities and pulled from childrens programs. I'm not saying that seniors don't deserve the Gospel. By all means, they do. But, if you look at the habits of people to become less interested in Christ as they get older, then logic dictates that you invest the most of what you have in the children of your community.

Here's one last way to look at this investment idea. It's short, and simple. It's the no-brainer of the discussion. It's the argument that ends the debate. I heard a pastor in South Carolina sum it up this way once: Jesus gave his all on the cross. We should desire to give our all back to Him.