Real Lasting Life
About this blog
Ray Jones is the Coordinator for Evangelism for the Presbyterian Church (USA). He has served the church as a pastor for twenty-five years. He has a heart for helping people grow in the love of God in Jesus Christ. This growth always includes our words and deeds. He is married and has two grown daughters. He has experienced training and education at Furman University, Columbia Theological Seminary, the church, and through living in the world.
Recent posts
- The Engine of the Church
- My Witnesses
- Witnessing Communities
- The Ministry of Making Disciples
- A New Creation
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My Witnesses
The churches of my childhood stressed constantly the importance of personal evangelism, but there was something essential missing in the messages we heard. The emphasis was on souls being saved. Not once did we receive a message about serving people in need and being part of what God is doing to right ancient wrongs.
When I was a teenager, I found a home with Presbyterians. It was refreshing to to hear about and to be part of God's mission to the poor and mistreated. The messages resonated with me, but once again something essential to the gospel was missing. There …
- Posted at 1:47 p.m.
- Permalink
May 15, 2012
Witnessing Communities
As I continue to do my work in evangelism, I keep going back to Jesus' words in Acts 1:1-8. He does not tell his followers to go and start churches. He does not tell them how to worship, serve, or study scripture; he tells them they will be witnesses when the Holy Spirit comes upon them (Acts 1:8).
We bear witness to the power of God's forgiving love in Jesus that has changed our lives. We bear witness to the reign of God through Jesus. As our lives change, we become the agents of change in our communities. As …
- Posted at 3:54 p.m.
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May 11, 2012
The Ministry of Making Disciples
We are called to make disciples. Seems like a simple thing. It's the ministry of the church. But we end up in countless meetings, planning programs, and struggling over denominational decline. We want to start new churches and transform our existing churches. And there is no easy plan for this ministry. But I'm becoming more convinced that if we are about making disciples, our churches will be transformed and we will start new communities of faith.
One of the things we must get right is that we must be the church for the world. We must be Jesus for …
- Posted at 3:39 p.m.
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