For any organization, growth is important. Modern growth strategies include social media, demographics, and marketing - just to name a few. Two thousand years ago, Jesus' method for growth can be summed up in three words. Today's message will unveil his three words and challenge us to apply them to our lives.

1. Go to them.
Go to the people you are interested in reaching. Just because people need Jesus and may have some interest in him, does not mean they are going to visit StoneBridge to meet him.

GROWTH GROUP / PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. What are ways we can fulfill the great commission (go into all the world and make disciples) today?
2. Has someone ever come to you and asked what you needed?
3. How did that person and their actions make you feel?

2. Do- address the need they care about most.
Meet their felt need. We aren’t talking about rocket science here. We meet people who need food, shelter and other basic kinds of help. We meet people who don’t have a sense of purpose, who have relationship problems or who feel unfulfilled in their jobs...

We don’t help people because we want them to join our church.
We help people because we are the church.

GROWTH GROUP / PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. Besides practical, physical needs, what are some needs people in our community have today?
2. Which of those needs are members of the church equipped to meet?
3. How could we go to people who have those needs?
4. Would you feel you were doing the work of God if you were meeting these needs?

3. Be about God’s business.
Jesus was going from Jericho to somewhere else. Remember earlier, we said, Jesus met Bartimaeus as Jesus was going about his regular business. That is an ideal way to meet people, while we are living our regular lives.

GROWTH GROUP / PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. What does it mean for the church to be about God’s business? What does it mean for individual Christians to be about God's business? Is there a significant difference? If not, why not? If so, how so?
2. How much emphasis should be put on go, do, be versus marketing and inviting people to church?

Next step:
Think of one situation where you can go to them, do - meet a need, and be about God’s business. Prayerfully commit to make it so!