The two primary purposes of the Reach program are spelled out by the name REACH, an acronym that stands for Revealing Eternity And Changing Hearts.
Revealing Eternity
Our number one purpose, Revealing Eternity, speaks of our commitment to teach the truth of God's word to as many as possible, especially to the young people with whom we are privileged to work so closely.
The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:18, "We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are unseen are eternal." The things of this world that we can see, things like houses, cars, and money, are only temporary. These kinds of things get old and wear out, and they cannot be taken along when a person passes on from this life to the next. In the long run, these things really do not matter all that much.
On the other hand, things we cannot see, that is, spiritual things, last forever. Each and every one of us has a soul that will live forever, either in heaven or in hell. Deciding where our souls will spend eternity is absolutely the most important decision we will make in our lives. However, it is very easy to lose sight of the importance of this decision as we get caught up in the day-to-day matters of life. That is why at REACH we make revealing eternity our number one priority.
Changing Hearts
The second purpose of the REACH program goes hand in hand with the first. When a person comes to an understanding of the importance of eternity, it calls for a change in how that person lives their life. The focus of the person's life can no longer be on things like making more money or simply having fun all the time. The focus has to be on God and living a life that pleases him.
This is the way of life that we strive to teach the youth who are involved in REACH. We want for each of them to have a life filled with the fruit of the Spirit as it is described in Galatians 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." The only way to have these qualities in life is to live according to God's word. We want to help them learn this way of life during the early years of their lives.
