October 31, 2026 · Faith

Remembering the One: Notes From Pastor Craig Altman's Message on the Mission

A summary of a message from Pastor Craig Altman at Grace Family Church in Lutz, Florida, on staying focused on the mission Jesus gave us: remembering the one lost sheep, looking for people who are open, being real rather than religious, and relying on the Holy Spirit.

This post is my summary of a message from Pastor Craig Altman at Grace Family Church in Lutz, Florida. I found it encouraging and wanted to write down what I took from it so I could return to it and share it with others. The ideas, stories and illustrations below are Pastor Craig's, and any mistakes in how I have recorded them are mine. I would encourage you to hear the full message at Grace Family Church.

Overview

Pastor Craig started Grace Family Church 32 years ago with about 80 people and one mission: reaching people who are far from God. The church now meets in eight locations around Tampa Bay, and he made the point that the mission has not changed in those 32 years. The question he asked, and returned to several times, was a personal one: have we, as a church or as individuals, drifted from the mission?

The message rests on Luke 19:10, where Jesus describes His own mission as coming to seek and to save the lost. Pastor Craig offered four ways to stay on that mission:

1. Remember the one, not only the ninety-nine.
2. Look for people who are hungry.
3. Don't be religious; be real.
4. Rely on the power of the Holy Spirit.

Remember Where God Found You

The message began with a reason for the mission that is easy to overlook. Many of us remember being far from God, and when we forget where God brought us from, we tend to drift from the mission without noticing. The mission itself stays the same. What changes is whether we are still paying attention to it.

Jesus was often criticized by religious leaders for spending time with tax collectors and people with poor reputations. In response, He told the parable in Luke 15:3-7. A man with a hundred sheep loses one, leaves the ninety-nine, searches until he finds the lost one, and carries it home on his shoulders with joy. Jesus said there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine who do not need to repent.

Point One: Remember the One

Joy and purpose

The first application was about joy. Some Christians feel they have lost their joy or sense of purpose, and one reason may be that we have forgotten the mission. There is a particular kind of joy in being part of someone else's story as they come to know God, and the message encouraged anyone missing that joy to ask God to put them back on mission.

The "us four and no more" drift

Most of us remember the first weeks and months after we came to faith, when we wanted to tell everyone about Jesus. The longer we are in church, the easier it becomes to turn inward. The message called this an "us four and no more" mentality, where the people already inside become the focus and the people outside are forgotten.

The church's own history offers examples. When the first building filled and the church added a second service, some members were unhappy that they would no longer see their friends at the same hour. When the church later opened additional locations, some asked why it was trying to grow so large. The answer both times was that more seats meant more room for people who did not yet know God, in a region of about three million people. Those who attend Saturday services were thanked, because doing so leaves room on Sundays for guests.

God loves the ninety-nine, and the church loves them too. The encouragement was not to stop caring for one another, but to keep an empty seat in mind for someone who is still lost.

Point Two: Look for Those Who Are Hungry

The woman at the well

Jesus was intentional about the conversations He had. In John 4, the disciples went into town for food while Jesus waited at a well, where He met a Samaritan woman whose life had been marked by broken relationships. She was open and curious, and Jesus offered her living water. She believed, and then went and told the people of her town.

When the disciples returned and urged Him to eat, Jesus told them in John 4:35 to open their eyes and look at the fields, because they were already ripe for harvest. The message applied this to our time. When life feels unstable, people tend to be more open to what is solid. People who are hurting or in crisis are often the ones most ready to hear about God, and they may be among our own family, friends, coworkers and classmates.

Zacchaeus in the tree

Luke 19:1-10 tells of Jesus passing through Jericho with crowds lining the road. Zacchaeus was too short to see over them, so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree. Of all the people there, Jesus stopped for the one who had made the extra effort to see Him, called him by name, and invited Himself to his house. The point was that many people are already looking and are waiting for an invitation.

Fishing where the fish are hungry

Jesus said in Matthew 4:19 that He would make His followers fishers of people. Anyone who has been offshore fishing with a good captain knows how it works: the captain finds fish on the sonar, has everyone drop their lines, and moves on after a few minutes if the fish are not biting. There is no reason to stay for hours where the fish are not hungry. Jesus gave His disciples similar instructions in Luke 9:5: if a town would not receive them, they were to shake the dust off their feet and move on.

The practical takeaway was not to force conversations about faith. The message was honest that it is possible to get this wrong, with a recollection of arguing with people and becoming frustrated in the early days of faith. Looking instead for people who are curious and asking questions changes the experience for everyone involved.

Point Three: Don't Be Religious, Be Real

Finding common ground

The third point was about how we come across. Some of us, after coming to faith, start speaking a kind of insider language that others find hard to connect with. This was not a call to compromise God's Word, which remains holy and unchanging. It was a call to avoid being condescending or self-righteous, and to find ways to communicate that connect with people where they are.

In 1 Corinthians 9:22, Paul writes that he became all things to all people so that by all possible means he might save some. The message drew out the idea of finding common ground first. Often that is something as simple as sports, and a comment about a favorite team can sometimes lead to a deeper conversation.

Common ground at church

The church tries to do this itself. During football season, one campus shows the games in the lobby until the service starts, so that a visitor who has never been to church sees something familiar and relaxed. The children's ministry works to make church fun for kids, because children who are bored are unlikely to want to come back. Both choices have drawn criticism from time to time, but each one is there to help someone new feel welcome.

One story was about a man who decided to make Grace Family Church his home after watching a competitive Thanksgiving flag football game between the pastors, because it showed him that church people were ordinary and approachable.

Being honest about our own lives

People are not afraid of the truth. They want to see someone who is honest about their own life. Showing interest in people, asking questions about where they are, and being willing to say "I have been there too" makes faith conversations far less difficult than we often imagine.

Behind all of this is the conviction that eternity is at stake. Jesus spoke plainly about heaven and hell, and the hope expressed in the message was simply for heaven to be full. We also do not save anyone ourselves. As 1 Corinthians 3:6 describes, one person plants, another waters, and God gives the growth. If we have the joy of being present when someone comes to faith, it is usually the result of a long process that many others were part of.

Point Four: Rely on the Power of the Holy Spirit

Wait for the Spirit

After His resurrection, Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit before doing anything else (Acts 1:4). Acts 1:8 explains why: they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came on them, and they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

What a witness does

A witness simply tells what they have seen and heard. Sharing faith does not have to be complicated or highly theological, even though it is good to learn to defend our faith. Often it is a person's own story that makes the difference: what life was like before Christ, how they came to know Him, and what life is like now. Like the man in John 9:25 who said, "I was blind, but now I see," that story can be told in a couple of minutes to someone who is ready to hear it.

Availability more than ability

The message suggested that availability matters more than ability. Praying at the start of the week, "God, I am available for You to use; show me someone I can help find You," tends to open our eyes to the people around us. That happens in everyday life, at work, at school and at our children's activities, not only in special settings.

Two personal stories in the message illustrated this. The first was of coming to faith through a young woman, later a wife, who had only known the Lord for about three months herself, which is a reminder that we do not need to know everything before God can use us. The second was a trip to Clearwater Beach in the 1970s with a friend and a stack of small gospel booklets. The two of them were nervous and walked around for a long time without speaking to anyone, until four rough-looking young men approached them. The conversation that followed ended with all four praying to receive Christ. Not every conversation goes that way, and the message said so, but God can use people who make themselves available, even when they feel unprepared.

Four Friends and an Invitation

The message closed with Mark 2:1-12, where four friends carried a paralyzed man to Jesus. When the house was too crowded to enter, they did not give up. They opened the roof and lowered their friend down, and Jesus, seeing their faith, forgave and healed him. The friends did not start with a theological debate. They cared about their friend enough to bring him to Jesus.

Each person at the service was given a small set of invitation cards for upcoming services, with Christmas approaching. The encouragement was to ask God to show us who to invite: the lost sheep, the woman at the well, the man in the tree, or the friend who cannot take a step on their own. Sometimes the first step is not an invitation to church at all, but lunch or dinner and an ordinary conversation.

A Closing Prayer

The message closed with prayer for believers to have their passion for the mission renewed, to look for the one and not only the ninety-nine, and to be bold and real without being harsh, and everyone was invited to answer with the words of Isaiah 6:8: "Here am I. Send me."

The gospel was then explained simply, as an ABC:

• Acknowledge that we are lost and that we have all sinned.
• Believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the cross for our sins and our shame, and that He was raised from the dead.
• Commit our lives to Him.

Romans 10:13 promises that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, and anyone ready to make that decision was invited to do so that day.

Closing Reflection

I came away from the message grateful for the question it kept asking, whether we have drifted from the mission, and for how gently it was asked. The stories of the lost sheep, the woman at the well and Zacchaeus in the tree were familiar, and hearing them together was a helpful reminder that many people around us are already open and are waiting to be invited. I hope to pray that prayer of availability more often myself.

If you live near Lutz, Florida, I would warmly encourage you to visit Grace Family Church and hear a message in person. The stories and humor that I could only summarize here are well worth hearing in full.