What business are we in? What is our product? Who is our customer? In today’s Message About Purpose and Strategy, I’ll remind you that the church has been commissioned to make disciples for God. Disciples (followers of Christ) are our product and God is our only customer. The whole process of evangelism and discipleship (leading people to follow Christ) is for God. We must not engage in role reversal and regard ourselves as the consumers. It is crucial that we get this right. Our product is not the Sunday show, or the care we offer. It is not our programs, music or teaching, and the paid professionals are not performers. We don’t exist for ourselves. It would be a tragedy for the church to proliferate self-indulgent consumerism. Christianity, as a system, relationship, worldview and lifestyle, is not intended to meet the felt needs of society (though it will). This whole shebang is to please God. Think of it: you are not the customer of what we do here; you are the product! Since this is the case, when we evaluate how we’re doing, we don’t ask how many satisfied customers are buying what we are selling, but what kind of people are we producing for God? We make disciples for God. We lead people to follow Christ for God’s sake.