What some of you don't know or is that my family & have been in mission work & ministry for about 8 years.  Today, I am director of our church's outreach ministries.  One of things I want to do is to give you the tools, to equip you to make the Kingdom of God tangible right where you are at home, at work, at the football games, your kid's events and so on.  We want you to be equipped to make God's presence real in the lives of people around you. 

In Hugh Halter' & Matt Smay's book Tangible Kingdom, they address the fact that in America today attendance in American churches is dropping drastically.  In the 1920's & 30's, they say that America was considered about 80% of the population was attending church at least once a month and claimed Jesus as their Savior.  Today, it is said that less than 20% of America's population is considered churched and in the next 20 years... that number is going to be less than 10% if we do not change the way we have always done and view outreach & evangelism in the church.  By these numbers, America is now considered the 4th largest mission field in the world. 

Matter-of fact, America at one time funded & sent more missionaries to other countries than anybody else.  Today, those countries are now sending missionaries back to the United States. 

You may have heard the word missional used at different times around the church... for most people, this is a new word that many don't understand what it means, but also depending on your background you can get any number of different meanings.  For many people... it is describing the actions of a missionary or a person sent by God. 

Here at Lancaster Vineyard, for us, this word simply means God's people living on mission to make the Kingdom of God tangible wherever we are.  We see ourselves as missionaries to Lancaster, Fairfield County & beyond. 

This simply starts with loving the people that God has brought into your life.  Each Monday, on Missional Mondays, I am planning on sending out some practical steps for you to be missional that will include blog posts, videos, resources from other sites, etc. 

FOR THIS WEEK... our Missional Monday practical step is to love people the way Jesus loved them: 

• This includes loving those that are not like us
• This includes loving the unsaved co-worker
• This includes loving the annoying neighbor
• This includes loving those that get on your last nerves...
• Simply put ask God to increase your ability to love people the way He loves them.  Remember, God loved us enough to send Jesus to die for us... He sent his best so we could experience God's presence here on earth.  SO GO LOVE PEOPLE!

HERE IS A PROMISE... NEXT WEEK WON'T BE SO LONG. 

Now GO love somebody