Every local Church has the responsibility to search out the lost of GOD with a passion and devotion.  This will cost everyone in the Church prayer, time and money.  When a Church makes Evangelism their first course, they have the heart of GOD.  If they put other things above bringing JESUS to people, many things in the Body will begin to fall apart.  I attended a Church one evening where I was shocked to see people everywhere playing poker.  When I asked about it, I was told it was only for fund raiser purposes!   A few month's later, this Church celebrated Valentine's Day and had all the teen girls and boys get a date for the party.  In my personal opinion this Church had gone off course, had lost it's way in a storm and was heading in the wrong direction.  I later inquired just how many people they had brought to the LORD that year and the answer was:  none!  At least they knew when to fold and when to hold and when to 'bet it all'!

Not for the purpose of being self-righteous or legalistic, but if an unbeliever had just happened to visit that Church during the big poker game, they probably would have walked out and missed their opportunity to come to the LORD all together.  Then again, what if they had HIV or were dying of a cancer and came to Church for healing prayer.  What do we say when the desperate walk out lost and confused after visiting our Church?  "I fold?"

Let's be crystal here.  The majority of Churches are serving the LORD with all their hearts and give large amounts of money to seek the lost of GOD throughout the world through Missions.  It is just the Churches that think they have the right to play whenever they want to that bring a bad witness to the world.  Praise GOD that there are so many more true Churches then false ones!