A pastor with a passion to fight pornography has taken his ministry to The Las Vegas Strip, right in the middle of the action in what is famously known as sin city.
And the mission is simple: share Christ and, with that, steer people away from the temptations and "dangerous devices" in Vegas.
"It makes perfect sense for who we're trying to reach, the temptations that this city has to offer, and the call that we feel that God's put in our lives to do this," Craig Gross, founder of XXXChurch.com, said to ABC News. "Las Vegas is known as sin city and that's where we need to be." Gross doesn't blame "the dark for being dark" spiritually, or for Vegas being Vegas. He instead blames "the light for not shining on the darkness." In other words, the Church needs to do a better job at telling people about Jesus.
"I think the church does a poor job overall when it comes to evangelism," Gross told ABC News. "We get content with our members and then we spend time satisfying just our members and we lose that focus of Jesus [who] said 'I came for the sick, not the healthy.'"
Gross first began ministering in Las Vegas in 2002 at a porn show. He and his XXXChurch.com staff have visited the porn conventions passing out "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" Bibles and now they're calling the city their home full time.
Gross and a small staff have been out on The Strip, handing out bottled water, labeled with "Strip Church: Bringin' the desert its drink" and a website address, to passers-by. They plan to launch Strip Church in January 2009.
They believe starting a church in Las Vegas is God's biggest plan yet for them.
"We didn't move here to be Las Vegas, but we came here to change Las Vegas," he said, according to ABC News. "If that's one family at a time, it's worth it."
While the lure of Vegas surrounds them, Gross is confident in God's plan.
Central Christian Church in Mesa, Ariz., and the Christian Missionary Alliance have committed their support for the Strip Church.
Along with launching a church on The Strip, Gross plans to rent booths at conventions and trade shows in the city to share Christ and to connect attendees to churches in the area.
"[I]f we can share Jesus when there are naked people distracting from the conversation, how can we not be able share Jesus during a concrete convention or an automotive trade show? We know that the great news of God's word can compete against anything – so that is what we are preparing to do," the Strip Church website reads.
According to Strip Church, nearly 40 million people visit Las Vegas every year and 10,000 prostitutes work in the city. Meanwhile, the number of people attending church in the United States today is about 8 million less than it was 20 years ago. The percentage of people going to church has dropped to about 16 percent, the ministry reports.
RSS
believer,
I agree. But I would like to offer up this thought if I may.
Christians should not be our evangelizing because things have become too comfortable at home.
Christians should be out evangelizing because they cannot contain the excitement that comes through the Holy Spirit.
wr, I think one way to keep people in the Church is to get them ministering to others both inside and outside the Church, help them to see it's not about them but about Him and joining Him in fulfilling His Great Commission.
oh. pornography. well that's different. i just thought that while he's there in vegas, you know...he could just...you know....do a little craps or something. nothing major, mind you. black jack is always a good bet.
i wish people had more humor....
jester in the Kings court
Your comment is interesting....considering this church is focusing on pornography.
Perhaps they may also address being more responsible with personal finances that may be thrown away on gambling....
believer
Based upon the many articles I have seen posted on CP, it would seem that many churches are trying to figure out ways in which to keep people attending church.
I am assuming this means Christians who, for whatever reasons, have dropped off attending on a regular basis.
This would tell me that many churches are struggling to keep up with their own memberships because they may be far more interested in evangelizing.
i just hope this pastor comes back with more money than he went with.
wr, if this church is like many evangelical churches today, specifically those in my area of the country, the Pastor is right on target with his church being too inward looking, taking care of self and each other rather than being wholeheartedly committed to God's Great Commission.
believer
I agree. Christians need to be prepared to witness at all times to all people.
There is a difference, however, in a specific call to evangelize.
There is just a concern that this church feels that they were spending too much time in ministry to their own members.
Given this call to evangelize, it is hoped that the Holy Spirit will show them the correct balance between winning souls and keeping souls.
Remember that in Jesus' prayer, at the Last supper, He acknowledges to the Father that except for the one who betrayed Him he kept all of the other disciples.
He only lost the one because this was part of God's plan. But He did not lose any that the Father had given to him.
wrhalver,
Amen. I never disputed that. But unfortunately, too many people shine their candle in church...and then blow it out as they leave the building....
wr, but we're also to be the salt of the earth, to live our Christian lives in such a way that we make people thirsty for what we have, a personal, intimate and growing relationship with God through Christ, they can't see that if we continually hang out in church and are not out in the world, not of the world but in the world.
Prophet
Remember that the light that shines behind the closed doors of the sanctuary is seen by those who are also in the sanctuary.
If those in the sanctuary cannot see that light, the world will not see it either. That is the purpose of the lyrics you presented by Keith Green.
A light hidden behind the closed doors of a santuary cannot be seen.
wrhalver,
I agree. But don't forget "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost"
and
"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
So our light needs to be shining 24/7, but we also need to go.
Prophet
You have said....
Unfortunately, in today's church, we are waiting for the sinners to come beat down our doors trying to get in. And as we see, that mentality isn't winning many souls.
Mat 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
The world needs to see more light so they can understand the darkness better.
In this case, this light should not be seen just in Las Vegas. This light should be seen before people go to Las Vegas.
Do you see, do you see
All the people sinking down
Don't you care, don't you care
Are you gonna let them drown
How can you be so numb
Not to care if they come
You close your eyes
And pretend the job's done
"Oh bless me Lord, bless me Lord"
You know it's all I ever hear
No one aches, no one hurts
No one even sheds one tear
But He cries, He weeps, He bleeds
And He cares for your needs
And you just lay back
And keep soaking it in,
Oh, can't you see it's such a sin?.....
The world is sleeping in the dark
That the church just can't fight
Cause it's asleep in the light
How can you be so dead
When you've been so well fed
Jesus rose from the grave
And you, you can't even get out of bed.
Ketih Green
Now here's a preacher who takes God at His Word. He is taking the Gospel to the sinners. Just like Jesus did. He went to where the sinners lived and ate. Unfortunately, in today's church, we are waiting for the sinners to come beat down our doors trying to get in. And as we see, that mentality isn't winning many souls.
wr, most times when I hear that, the Pastor usually means the church is focusing too much inwarldy and not enough outwardly, plus I suspect he believes getting his people out in the world will hopefully challenge them to grow more in their own relationship with the Lord and not only will people be saved, but Christians will be come more Christlike and they will be a true Great Commission church.
believer
The church states that it has spent too much time focusing on its own members and not witnessing to those on the outside. God has lead them to evangelize, targeting the pornographic activity in Las Vegas.
Does this mean that the church members are "Spiritually" accounted for and they are not seeing anyone else from the outside coming in to seek God?
wr, I'm not sure what your point is with regard to strippers, my sense is the main focus of the church initially will be that of street evangelism which will allow them to engage people from all walks of lie, I don't see their focus being to strippers, but rather lost people which needless to say would include but is certainly not limited to strippers.
Daniel Paul
If the church is going to the Las Vegas street corner to witness to strippers, they can only know them by the clothing they wear, or perhaps how they present themselves.
So how do they know if they have already been a witness to strippers within their church?
"I'm curious as to whether the church would know that a stripper has come in to their presence"
Christians don't care about pointing that out. That's the point.
I'm curious as to whether the church would know that a stripper has come in to their presence to seek God.
Or is it just the clothing that gives them away?