“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” — 1 Peter 2:9
I believe the single greatest issue in our world today is not hunger or homelessness. It’s not child abuse or failing schools. It’s not the breakdown of the family, the scourge of drugs, or out-of-wedlock births. It’s not even crime or terrorism.
While all of these are real and urgent, none of them is the root problem. The single greatest need in the world today is for the Church to be the Church again. If I were granted the power to fix one thing in this broken world, I would use it to correct the mission drift of the Church.
Every other societal issue is a symptom of a Church off mission. When the Church faithfully fulfills its calling—to love God, love people, proclaim truth, and serve the broken—the ripple effects transform lives, families, and communities.
The danger is when the Church becomes institutional rather than incarnational. Programs, policies, and professionalized structures can be helpful tools—but they cannot replace real presence. Institutional ministry risks measuring success by attendance, offerings, or activities, while missing the heart of God: walking alongside the hurting, sitting in their pain, and being a visible expression of Christ in the world.
Incarnational ministry—ministry of presence—is what fulfills the calling Peter describes. The Church lives out its identity as a chosen race, royal priesthood when it moves into the lives of those it serves, reflecting God’s glory in tangible ways. Presence transforms. Programs serve. Only walking with people heals.
As one of my favorite authors, A.W. Tozer, said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Likewise, what comes into our hearts about the Church shapes the world. When the Church is alive, incarnational, and on mission, hope flows, brokenness is met with grace, and the Kingdom of God becomes visible. The hope of the world has always been—and will always be—Christ working through His Church.
The world’s greatest need is not more programs or policies—it is a Church living incarnationally, fully on mission, as the hands and feet of Christ.
Prayer:
Lord, awaken Your Church. Free us from busyness, from over-reliance on programs, and from the distractions that keep us from true presence. Teach us to walk alongside the hurting, to love as You love, and to reflect Your glory in tangible ways. Make us incarnational vessels of Your Kingdom, so that hope flows, brokenness is healed, and Your Church fulfills its calling in the world. Amen.
