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"Your Church and Your Town"Let’s say your church suddenly ceased to exist as of last night. What would be the response in your community? Would it be dismay, sorrow, a sense of loss? Or would people shrug their shoulders and say, “What church? Never heard of it.” I ask this question because Jesus personally left a huge impact everywhere he went, and the church is supposed to function as a continuation of his ministry. And what was his ministry? For one thing, he went about doing good. He fed the hungry, brought healing to the sick, and welcomed them as friends. But that wasn’t all. Of far greater importance was his message of hope—you can be reconciled to God, sins can be forgiven, peace and joy and contentment can be experienced right here and now, relationships can be mended. Notice he had no interest in building structures, only in building men and women. He loved people and discipled them and changed their lives. And that is what we’re supposed to be doing. Helping people change through the life-transforming power of the gospel. Society will never be redeemed by local ordinances or education or public demonstrations. It’s a grass roots movement. One life at a time radically transformed by the power of the gospel. And if your church is doing the work of Jesus with earnestness and diligence, your community will be impacted. And it will devastated if your church ever ceased to be.