Would Jesus Be Welcome in Your Church?
What is the identity, purpose, and mission of your church? These are questions that our church has wrestled with since our inception in 2007. Does our mission align with the Great Commission which commands us to go to all nations. I know that many of us enjoy and feel comfortable in our Korean-American churches, but are we able to fulfill the Great Commission within such a church.
Many in our church definitely feel more comfortable among other Korean-Americans, but our mission should be to establish a house of prayer for all nations. Our mission field should be all nations. This clearly takes us out of our comfort zone. This is a lesson that Jesus had to teach His disciples as they were not comfortable going outside of their territory. “Thus Christ sought to teach the disciples the truth that in God’s kingdom there are no territorial lines, no caste, no aristocracy; that they must go to all nations, bearing to them the message of a Saviour’s love.” AA 20. Just like the disciples, this is a lesson that our church had to learn.
In the past, our church life seemed to be a sheltered cultural bubble on the Sabbath, while the rest of our week was lived in a very diverse society of different ethnicities, cultures, backgrounds, and religions. If our mission field is all nations, the question we had to ask ourself was, would we feel comfortable reaching out beyond our comfort zone and inviting our non-Korean friends, co-workers, neighbors, or colleagues to church.
A few years ago, I invited 2 of my office staff to church. After many years, I was able to share my faith with them and finally gathered up the courage to invite them to church. They initially came to a few of our cooking classes, then to one of our outreach meetings, and finally to church. I was excited, yet a little anxious to be able to invite people to our church from work who were neither Korean-American nor SDA. They really enjoyed the programs and services and thought the people were friendly. They attended a few more times but haven’t returned since. Although they enjoyed the worship service and church, they said that they didn’t feel quite comfortable in our church. Their feedback created much reflection on my part about our church.
I believe one of the biggest litmus tests for a church to evaluate its mission is the question, “would Jesus be welcome in your church?” Over the years, many people of various ethnicities, socioeconomic classes, and religious backgrounds have come through the doors of our church. We are intentional about welcoming them and ministering to them, however this can be a real challenge at times. Many do not fit what some would feel is the stereotypical church member. How welcoming would your church be to the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick or prisoner? Would Jesus be welcome in your church? Matthew 25:40.
Charlie Ahn is an ophthalmologist in the Chicago area and serves as an elder in Lombard SDA Fellowship. He is married with 3 boys.