I preached a sermon last Sunday to wrap up GracePointe’s M.E.O.W. (Missions, Evangelism, and Outreach Week). I don’t preach a lot of topical sermons, but this one was on the dual themes of Evangelism and Discipleship. My premise was two-fold, from Matthew 28:18-20 (the “Great Commission”) and Luke 14:25-33…

1. That evangelism shouldn’t be separated from discipleship. Too often we aim for converts instead of disciples. Ideally, evangelism leads to discipleship. Then true discipleship should result in a natural outflow of evangelism once again. Evangelism bleeds into discipleship, and discipleship bleeds into evangelism. It really is “Evangelship and Discangelism”.
2. That we need to look to the cross and count the cost of following Christ. The New Testament makes a lot of connections between the cross and the cost of discipleship, and those connections are something we need to hear in this country especially.

I closed this sermon by sharing a brief overview of the Elders’ convictions about where we believe God is leading us as a congregation regarding missions, outreach, evangelism, and discipleship. I’m praying that what was shared will bear fruit!