Church Abandoned
Abandon the world. Follow Jesus.
The Church Abandoned Story
Church Abandoned started with a calling given to our pastor and many people like you, being called to come alongside and serve. God opened our eyes to see that the church of today has become very different from the early church in the Bible. In the New Testament we read stories where the disciples left EVERYTHING to follow Jesus. Following Jesus became what their lives were all about. Many people believe this was unique to the disciples but if we read the New Testament and the Bible as a whole, we can see that this calling to make your life all about Jesus was not just for the disciples, but for everyone! This includes YOU! We know this by reading many other scriptures in the Bible. We see in Matthew 8:18-22 and Luke 18:18-30 where Jesus turns away people who were not willing to give every aspect of their lives to Him and He rewards those who ARE willing. In Luke 9:23 Jesus tells us that anyone wishing to follow Him must DAILY take up our cross and follow Him. What does He mean? What is all this about? Jesus has called all of us to ABANDON the things of the world and follow Him! Our lives should be about living for HIM! We are called to do so much more than simply be saved and wait for Heaven to arrive. This may sound scary but trust us! We can attest that when you abandon everything for Jesus, you don’t lose anything, but rather gain EVERYTHING; life and joy and peace beyond what words can describe! You may ask why you haven’t heard the gospel portrayed this way. The church has acted more as a salesman trying to get you to buy the product of salvation rather than discipling people to show them the riches and reward of a life devoted to Jesus.
That is why God called us to start Church Abandoned! We are a group of very ordinary people, no different than the disciples in the Bible, who have decided to Abandon everything in pursuit of following Jesus. This doesn’t mean we live in isolation from the world. It means that rather than pursuing the desires or “success” of this world, we strive to live and prepare for the world that is to come. We have devoted ourselves to Jesus and the teaching of His word. We are passionate about then taking what we have learned and our experiences with Jesus and sharing that with the World. We want to reach people with gospel and urge them to join us on this co-mission that Jesus has given us in Matthew 28:16-20. Our aim is to bring the gospel to the ends of the Earth (Acts 1:8) teaching, baptizing, and making disciples who are willing to abandon their life here on Earth so that they may gain life eternally. For Church Abandoned, God has shown us that this calling starts here, in the town of Etowah. We hope YOU will join us in our effort to outreach and disciple this community. Our prayer is that Etowah is only the beginning of the Church Abandoned Story and that one day we help send missionaries and plant churches across the globe in obedience to the great commission. It all starts here though in a town similar to Galilee, the town the disciples were from.