Loving Our Neighbors in PA/SJ
Quick Clicks
KNOW
SHOW
GROW
Let’s love our neighbors!
Regional statistics indicate that 14 million people in Pennsylvania/South Jersey do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And EVERY 4 MINUTES, 1 Pennsylvanian or S. Jerseyan DIES without Christ! That fact alone gives urgency to what the Baptist Resource Network–and your church–does everyday. To the aim of pushing back this lostness, the Baptist Resource Network introduces you to a new missional framework for engaging our neighbors in Pennsylvania & South Jersey called #LovePASJ (or Love Pennsylvania/South Jersey).
Over the next few years, we will unveil a three-phase plan to LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS (as found in Matthew 22) all across Pennsylvania/South Jersey.
The first phase, “KNOW,” will provide resources and encouragement to churches to love their neighbor(s) through prayerwalking, community exegesis and exploration, and adopting neighborhoods for Christ. We envision church members actually knowing the names of their neighbors, praying for them by name, and intentionally seeking ways to have Gospel conversations with them.
The second phase, “SHOW,” will examine what it means to follow Christ through words AND actions; through compassion ministries, evangelistic outreaches, and other ways to show love to our neighbors. We look forward to the day when bigotry is erased, violence is decreased, fear is diminished and neighbors actually enjoy each others’ company instead of staying behind closed doors. Can’t you just hear the Christian worship spilling out windows and neighbors sharing conversations across the fence–and across the table?
The third phase seeks to teach participants to “GROW” in all that Jesus commanded with a special focus on intentional discipleship and leadership development. What if our churches assessed the actual needs of neighborhoods, evaluated church members’ skills, and actively matched people to meet those needs? Can you visualize the sharing of food, repairing of homes, and people living generously, rescuing orphans, visiting widows, and overall shaping the beauty and impact of every neighborhood?
Without a doubt, our churches are facing a different world than ever before. It’s the perfect time to love our neighbors. One day, when we will look back, we will see this intentional effort leading to incredible results.
Let’s do this! Let’s #LovePASJ! Let’s ACCELERATE KINGDOM MOVEMENT!
#LovePASJ PROCESS
Overall Objective: To accelerate a Kingdom movement of Baptist Resource Network churches loving their neighbors in such a way that the statistic of 14 million lost people in PA/SJ is dramatically reduced — or even abolished!
GOAL 1: ENLIST
BRN churches and their members are encouraged to join forces with other BRN churches to prayer walk and exegete their communities. They can begin the process by subscribing to a daily devotional and registering to download the helpful resources (as shown in the buttons below).
GOAL 2: ESTABLISH
The BRN will provide enlisted churches information about Bless Every Home, a ministry that resources church members to pray over their neighbors by name, a “mapping tool” and other exegesis tools to help them understand baseline information about their neighborhoods, and resources to help them discover and connect with neighborhood “persons of peace,” all in an effort to establish a new or stronger gospel footprint.
GOAL 3: ENGAGE
Churches are urged to engage in regular rhythms of gospel conversations within the communities they have been studying. The Baptist Resource Network will provide online training and resources to help church members to have these gospel conversations and will come alongside to celebrate those connections.
GOAL 4: EMBRACE
“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another” (John 13:34 CSB).
#LovePASJ RESOURCES
Click on the button to register and access the #LovePASJ content.
Already have the password? Click here.
#LovePASJ PROGRESS