Even when we are in mission we sometimes convey the wrong message.  A teen-aged boy informed his father of a wonderful activity that they were going to do at his church's youth group.  They were going to hand out blankets to the homeless. This was in Cleveland, Ohio where warmth is a necessity during the ruthless northeast winter.  The young man exclaimed with fervor, "We're passing out blankets so that we can tell them about Jesus!"  His father, simply and with certainty, corrected him.  He explained, "We don't give blankets to the homeless to tell them about Jesus.  We give blankets to the homeless because they're cold." 

Do you understand the difference? If we are motivated by the idea that we're going to make our church a bigger church, then our witness will ring false. If, on the other hand, we are motivated simply by the desire to transmit the love we have received from Jesus, then the world will gladly receive us.