At a conference on worship I attended recently, I heard the quote: “Christians aren’t born. They are made.”

That is true! The primary mission of the church is to make Christians. We often think of that as evangelism. But it is so much more! We are also called to preach, to teach and to heal. It is a whole package that is designed to help make mature Christians who know and love God, so they can receive the promise of salvation.

When Jesus called his first disciples, he said: “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19) He taught them, answered their questions, and showed them how to live. Jesus sent his disciples out into the world to be witnesses so that others might come to faith and be saved.

During our nation’s early years, our land was filled with evangelists. Just look at all the churches we have around here. They often planted one or more churches and then moved on to start more in another area. But it didn’t stop there. Churches grew and developed parochial schools and even created Christian colleges and seminaries in order to pass along the faith and help students grow in knowledge. Churches also created hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages and disaster response organizations to bring healing and care for people in need. The church was at the forefront of society, making a difference! In doing so, they were fulfilling the mission God gave them: to make Christians!

The famous evangelist, D. L Moody, when criticized for his evangelistic methods, replied, “I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it.” That’s the problem with most of us, we have no method at all.

Jesus was clear and showed his disciples what to do, and how to do it. In Matthew 9:35 we read: “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” Has the method changed? No, we are to preach, teach, and heal:

Preach: Tell people about God, warning of the judgment of sin but also the love and forgiveness of God so that they can believe and share in the promise of heaven.

Teach: Explain who God is to those who are new to the faith so they can discover the depth of God’s love and the riches of His wisdom for us that we find in the Bible.

Heal: Share forgiveness where there is repentance; heal broken hearts as we share the burdens of this life; use our talents and wisdom through the medical and caring fields to show God’s love and compassion at work in us, so that they too may believe and have life eternal — the ultimate healing.

Let us all go out and make disciples, because Christians aren’t born, they are made!