Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. Matthew 16:18 (NLT)
God loves every person in the world. He wants to bring each of them into relationship with Him, and Jesus explained His plan to do this in our verse today. You see, God’s heart is to bring more people into His family, and Jesus’ plan for doing that is His church.
Some would say that church is unnecessary, but Jesus cares deeply about His church. In fact, according to scripture, it’s the only thing He said He was building.
In Matthew 6:33, Jesus told us to pursue God’s Kingdom first instead of things or other relationships. When you think about it, if you really are pursuing His Kingdom, which is His family, you care about adding more people to it. And if you care about increasing the people that join His family, you get on board with Jesus’ plan for expanding it: His church.
This doesn’t mean that you have to start working for a church full-time. Just understand that your purpose is tied to your local church.
Committing yourself to a great local church is vital, especially when it comes to reaching others for Jesus. You see, even if you led thousands to Christ, you could never meet all their social and spiritual needs. You would burn yourself out trying! But when you’re a part of a church team, there’s no limit to how many you can help!
Find a life-giving local church you can be part of. With all the technology available to you today, even if you live hundreds of miles from a great church, you can find ways to help make that church thrive.