20 may 2025 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition CHURCH UNITED In the early days of seaside life and commerce along the coasts of the United Kingdom, danger was a daily reality. With unpredictable storms, rugged shorelines and limited navigation tools, shipwrecks were frequent, and lives were lost. In response, ordinary people — fisherman, teachers, blacksmiths and clergy — banded together to form rescue societies. These groups were fueled by urgency, compassion and a singular mission: save lives at sea. They built lifeboats. They trained volunteers. They braved the worst weather imaginable, rowing into violent storms pulling strangers from certain death. These rescue societies were gritty, sacrificial and profoundly purpose driven. This past Easter I received dozens of texts from pastors across South Florida sharing incredible stories of faith, spontaneous baptisms, packed services and an overall sense of a growing spiritual hunger and curiosity in the region. In fact, the latest State of the Church research from Barna shows a growing trend of spiritual engagement across the nation. The testimonies of Easter should serve to remind us of the fruit of what staying on mission as the people of God looks like: “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost” (Luke 19:10 NLT). But back to these old rescue societies for a minute. Over time, something shifted. These life-saving stations became more sophisticated. Wealthy patrons funded better boats, equipment and facilities. Once barebones shelters turned into well-kept stations with warm lounges and polished brass. As fewer shipwrecks occurred — thanks to improved technology — some rescue societies began focusing less on rescue and more on maintenance. Their meetings became social gatherings. Fundraising dinners replaced rescue drills. Eventually, many transformed entirely, evolving into yacht clubs. The mission of saving lives at sea faded into the background, replaced by the comfort and community of like-minded members who enjoyed the water — but didn’t venture into the waves. The transformation is telling; what started as a rescue mission turned into a retreat for the already safe. The Church as a rescue society The Church, at its inception, was a movement. It was a rescue mission launched by Jesus Himself — a people empowered by the Holy Spirit, called to seek and save the lost, to heal the broken and to carry faith, hope and love into every corner of the world. It was raw, risky and rooted in the reality that people need to hear about the person of Jesus and what he had done. The early Christians didn’t build institutions; they built relationships. They didn’t wait for people to come to them; they went to the people. Their faith was dangerous, subversive and utterly compelling. It cost them everything — but it changed the world. Yet somewhere along the way, the Church, too, began to shift. Buildings got bigger. Programs got flashier. Theology became professionalized. Worship services became productions. Church became more about the experience inside the walls than the mission beyond them. The lifeboats stayed in the boathouse while the members met for fellowship and coffee. We’ve become comfortable. But the Gospel was never meant to make us comfortable — it was meant to make us courageous. As Christians — ambassadors of Christ’s rescue society — let us never forget to our calling of jumping into our lifeboats, daring over the waves of the lostness, brokenness and pain around us. May it never be said that the Church — once a spiritual rescue society — is today in danger of becoming a yacht club. Recovering the mission The good news is that Jesus never called us to form clubs. He called us to form communities on mission — spiritual rescue societies filled with people willing to get wet, cold and uncomfortable to pull others from the sea. To recover this calling, the people of God must embrace several shifts: 1) From comfort to calling: We must resist the lure of self-preservation and re-center our lives around the radical call of Jesus: deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him into the storm. 2) From inward to outward: Our gatherings should fuel our going. The Church is the only organization that exists primarily for those who are not yet part of it. We must measure success not by seating capacity but sending capacity. 3) From programs to people: Rescue doesn’t happen through perfect programs but through faithful people. Every believer is a rescuer-in-training. Evangelism, discipleship and service should be the heartbeat of every church. 4) From yacht club to lifeboat: It’s time to launch back into the deep. That means going to hard places, serving messy people and embracing the reality that mission is costly — but worth it. The sea still calls Shipwrecks still happen. The waves still rage. People are still drowning in despair, addiction, loneliness, sin and shame. And the local Church is still God’s “plan A” to bring redemption and restoration to the world — and she still has the only hope that saves. We cannot afford to drift into comfort while the world is lost at sea — desperately waiting for a rescue boat to arrive. Let the legacy of the rescue societies remind us of who we were called to be. The ocean is vast. The need is great. But our Captain is greater. As we stand at one of the greatest evangelistic opportunities of a generation, let’s leave the dock and return to the waves. Learn more about Church United by visiting churchuntiedfl.com. From Lifeboats to Yacht Clubs: What Rescue Societies Teach Us About the Church Today - Edwin Copeland - Executive Director, Church United
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