A Going Church - by Bishop Rick Whitter

FALL 2024 ISSUE | 5 minute read

At our recent International General Assembly, newly elected General Overseer, Bishop Gary Lewis passionately ministered to our movement by addressing the call on the Church to be a church that “goes.” #WEGo! became a rallying cry. We are called by Christ to go to the community, go to the cities, towns, and villages, go to the lost, and go to the harvest field to preach, teach, and show the love of Christ! It was a powerful and moving moment for the Church. The Presiding Bishop’s address, along with those of the rest of the Executive Committee, set the Church on notice that we will embrace and pursue this call!

Virginia will GO! The women and men who serve and lead our Church across the commonwealth are passionate agents of the Great Commission. We understand, not only our responsibility, not only our obligation, but also our privilege of sharing Christ with a lost world. Not one of us is comfortable with the fact that men, women, boys, and girls from our communities are lost without Christ. None of us are comfortable with the idea that most of our neighbors do not know the Lord in a personal way. I believe that every minister in the Virginia Church of God family has a burden for lost people. This burden forces us to come to terms with some new realities:

·      It is harder than ever to get people to come to church services.  

·      What once worked to inspire people to come to church is no longer effective.

·      Just “having church” is no longer an effective way of reaching our communities for Christ.

·      We must never compromise our Message, but our methods of ministry may need to be adjusted.

As always, when we face a dilemma, the Word of God holds our solutions. Basic Biblical truths about ministry are still true and still effective. Luke 19:10 tells us, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost;” and Paul wrote to Timothy, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” (1 Timothy 1:15.) In 2024, not many sinners want to come to church, (and unfortunately, many Christians don’t either!) If the sinners don’t come to us, we must GO to them. We must seek them out. We must leave the church building and find unbelievers – and we won’t have to go far.

I believe it’s time for us to take to the community the blessings of God that have been poured out in our church services. If what happens on Sunday stays in the church building, we are doing something wrong! In fact, one of the distinctives of the original Pentecost was that what happened in the Upper Room could not be contained to the Upper Room—it spilled out into the entire world! Until we experience an outpouring that spills into our communities, we are not yet truly Spirit-filled.

Let’s memorize these phrases:

·      My community is my Mission Field.

·      Real “Church” begins when the church service concludes.

·      What happens in the church can’t stay in the church building.

·      Every Christian is a missionary.

·      Church service is not just a place to be blessed, it is a place to be equipped, empowered, and entrusted with ministry outside the four walls.

I am personally asking every Pastor, minister, and church member in Virginia to embrace the passion to share Jesus with the lost. Seek them, find them, and go to them: in your school, at work, on the golf course, and in the grocery store. Neighbors, fishing buddies, coaches, social media friends—countless people in your life need Jesus. And if you don't share salvation with them, who will?

“A GOING Church” isn't the next catchphrase or catchy slogan. It is the command of God for His Church in Virginia. If we do not GO, we are disobedient to the Lord and His Word.

I am confident of a few things: God will bless churches that GO. When we are faithful and obedient to the Lord, He will bless us with increase. If we focus on the lost rather than focusing on growing our churches, He will increase our churches.

Let’s be intentional and strategic: Let’s plan our GOING to the lost. Let’s prepare to disciple those we reach for Christ. Let’s prepare to train new people to reach more new people.

Let’s be “A GOING Church.”  

Bishop Rick Whitter
State Administrative Bishop
Virginia Church of God State Office