The Early Church Was Complex, Not Simple

Without noting it specifically, Schnabel (2004) described the spread of the early church throughout the mediterranean world in the first century under the direction of the Apostles along the lines of complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory. The new emergent churches self-organized in what might be termed regional networks with each church functioning along the lines of what CAS theory would describe as independent agents.

In contrast to traditional mechanistic and even more current organic and open systems organizations, leadership in CAS finds expression within a network structure of “non-hierarchical relationships comprised of human points of contact” (Hatch & Cunliffe, 2013, p. 281). Hatch and Cunliffe delineated how networks form in light of “fragmented, specialized markets” (p. 281) and end up developing unique “lateral relationships and partnerships” (p. 281).

From a CAS theory perspective, then, the early missional churches lived and thrived in states of disequilibrium. They co-evolved as a system and network along with their environment they were seeking to impact. The new logic of leadership in CAS theory is really old logic: “leadership is an emergent event, an outcome of relational interactions among agents” (Lichtenstein et al., 2006, p. 2).

From my work in assisting church planting movements in east and south Asia, and even central Europe, the CAS approach fits naturally; those doing successful church planting actually approach leadership and change from a CAS perspective without knowing the theory. Leaders build shared vision within the larger complex system, take a facilitative and empowering approach toward other agents (leaders and churches), and enable change rather than direct change.

Interestingly, church planting in the USA happens slowly compared to many places in the world. Might this be at least partially explained by the commitment to traditions and mechanistic models of formal education, church buildings, full funding, and using processes and employing leadership in ways that are non-adaptive?


Hatch, M. J., & Cunliffe, A. L. (2013). Organization theory: Modern, symbolic, and postmodern perspectives (3rd ed.). Oxford, England: Oxford University.

Lichtenstein, B. B., Uhl-Bien, M., Marion, R., Seers, A., Orton, J. D., & Schreiber, C. (2006). Complexity leadership theory: An interactive perspective on leading in complex adaptive systems" Emergence: Complexity and Organization, 8(4), 2-12.

Schnabel, E. J. (2004). Early Christian mission. Downers Grove, IL: IVP.

Servant Leadership

We talk about servant leadership a lot in our churches and missions, but different leaders mean different things when using the term and practice servant leadership differently. 

Robert K. Greenleaf developed the leadership theory we call “servant leadership” in 1970. Greenleaf (1977) based his theory of servant leadership on examples from the New Testament. Other theorists have continued to explore the Scriptures and leadership studies and have furthered the description of servant leadership. Jesus Christ set the example when he washed his disciples feet and finished with these words:

John 13:14–16 ESV “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.”

The Theory

In servant leadership theory, leaders primarily attend to the needs of followers, while accomplishing organizational goals as a secondary priority. Servant leaders build trust with their followers by communicating openly and honestly, exhibiting personal integrity, and trusting followers themselves. Servant leaders listen to their followers’ personal concerns, help them grow wiser and healthier, and empower them to achieve their individual goals. Such leaders seek to create a culture focused on caring for the needs of all the organization's members as they work together to achieve common goals, all the while seeking to develop many other servant leaders within the organization. 

Patterson (2003) developed seven constructs for describing servant leadership: (a) love, (b) humility, (c) altruism, (d) vision, (e) trust, (f) empowerment, and (g) service. In Patterson’s definition, love concerns itself with moral judgment and action. Humility shows itself by keeping proper perspective of oneself and staying focused on others. Altruism consists of concern for the welfare of others and acting with complete fairness. Vision focuses on the personal vision and faith of followers, not the organization’s vision, rather the individual’s goals and fit within the organization. Leaders build trust through integrity and mutual respect. Leaders empower others by truly sharing power, emphasizing teamwork, and valuing input. Finally, the mission of servant leadership will be achieved by service as a way of life, attitude of the soul, and manner of being.

Servant leaders primarily concern themselves with serving their followers, while also helping them contribute to the organization's mission. How applicable is servant leadership in leading your church or mission?

Greenleaf, R. K. (1977) Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist.

Patterson, K. A. (2003). Servant leadership: A theoretical model. Servant Leadership Research Roundtable, Virginia Beach, VA. 

Calvinists And Arminians On Mission Together

When determining who will make the best ministry partners on mission trips one consideration I take into account is whether they are Calvinistic or Arminian.

Most of the time I will pair them up with a partner holding the opposite viewpoint. My purpose is to build them into stronger disciples of Christ and more effective evangelists of the Gospel.

My History on Mixed Theological Teams

My own experience includes being saved within an Arminian perspective. Much of my early Christian growth was with organizations and from leaders who also held this viewpoint, although I didn’t understand much about these theological differences at the time. Nonetheless, I held strong Arminian opinions. A pastor and good friend at one church I attended challenged me to keep on digging deeper into the Scriptures, to take my time and learn.

It was a good number of years later while I was teaching through Romans and Hebrews, and during my formal theological training, that I became thoroughly convinced of the Reformed or Calvinistic perspective. The seminary where I studied had faculty from both perspectives, which made learning about this important matter all the more fascinating, valuable and a great blessing.

I strongly believe that the Calvinistic understanding most faithfully and accurately represents the biblical teaching on salvation. Yet, while serving in my first official ministry position in a local church, I was ministering alongside a fellow assistant pastor who attended the same seminary I did, but who was thoroughly committed to the Arminian view. We had great debates, challenged one another, and yet we still found ourselves able to love one another and one another’s families, and advance the Gospel together.

When the Lord led me into the role of a lead pastor it was with an association of churches that welcomes both viewpoints. Our particular local church was committed to the Reformed position on the doctrines of grace, but we were called to graciously work alongside other churches with different commitments on these matters.

Because of my personal experience I know mixed theological ministry teams can work, can work very well, and that everyone will grow in the process of doing ministry and mission together.

Conflicts on Mixed Theological Teams

A person’s theological position makes a really great difference in how that person ministers the Gospel. Some today try to minimize the value of theology and strongly held opinions, ignorantly thinking that theology makes little difference in doing ministry.

Nothing could be further from the truth! Once people are on a team having to strategize how to reach a group of people, deciding on how the Gospel will be presented, and then actually presenting the Gospel from a variety of biblical passages in multiple conversations with unbelievers, the truth can be easily seen and felt—doctrine matters a whole lot!

Here are some of the most important and defining questions separating the two theological systems: How depraved are people? How does this affect them and their ability to respond to the Gospel, or not? What does it mean that God is sovereign and that He choses some for salvation? How do we understand the role of the free will of humanity? What exactly did Jesus’ death and resurrection accomplish? For whom was it designed and how do we see its effects? Can people resist the call of God? What would this look like and how would we respond to real people in the midst of it? Can people fall away from the faith, and if so how do we explain this? What is the basis for a secure salvation?

Benefits of Mixed Theological Teams

Conflict will be inevitable between viewpoints and between us as people. We both want to serve the Lord whole-heartedly and faithfully. And here is one of the greatest benefits of being together, seeing the vitality and reality of one another’s faith in Christ though from a very different evangelical theological system. He or she is also a godly Christian believer!

John 13:34–35 ESV “[Jesus said,] A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Serving this closely with others who hold the opposite view also helps us deepen our own convictions. We are driven to the Word of God to rediscover what the Holy Spirit wrote about Jesus Christ and the work of God in our salvation. This is a really good thing. We are also made better theologians, more humble theologians who can respectfully disagree and learn from one another. Who knows, we may convert the other to the truth of our own view!

Moreover, the debates and discussions we have are no longer only biblical and theological, but practical as well. We are serving on mission together at the same time, praying with one another, and declaring the Gospel to real people for the purpose of God’s glory being revealed!

My teams of mixed theological persuasions have proven my approach over and over. It has been a great blessing for them to work in such an environment and many have told me it was one of the best training and equipping experiences of their lives. They enjoyed being challenged to think more biblically, dialogue more honestly with others, and rejoice above all in the advance of the Gospel! In the end, they had even more confidence that regardless of their differences the basic truths of the Gospel were being proclaimed.

It is also good to be on teams that hold the same view as one’s own, just not exclusively. It is perhaps best to be in a church, or with a mission, that has a clear theological commitment so everyone can move in the same direction. Just make sure to get out once in a while and partner in some ways with those of the other viewpoint.

I Already Answered That Question

Years ago I taught a group of 20 young national church planters in a remote and hidden location for a week. My topic was the doctrine of the Trinity. But, to my surprise, at the end of the week the class was most interested in Bible verses about the Return of Christ.

Unusual Question & Answer

Open question and answer sessions can be very helpful to those asking the questions and to everyone listening and thinking through the answers together. These kinds of sessions can also reveal a lot about where a group is in their understanding of doctrine, Christian living, and how they are thinking about their community and mission.

The first person asked about the meaning of a passage in Matthew about the timing and events surrounding Christ’s Return. I answered the question. A second person asked about the meaning of a verse in Mark about Christ’s Return. It was a similar passage, but I answered the question. A third person asked about the meaning of a verse in Revelation about the end times. Again, it was a very similar question. I pointed out how all these questions were almost asking the same thing, and then I answered the question again.

And yes, a fourth person found a passage in Luke he couldn’t understand about Jesus’ coming again and asked the same types questions again! At this point I put a stop to the questions, “I already answered that question,” I said. They looked confused. It was time to have a conversation about the value of systematic theology.

Biblical Literacy is Elementary

This group of young men and women knew their Bibles well and could quote many verses by heart. They were passionate about their faith in Christ, understood the Gospel and could communicate it clearly. Objections to Christianity were readily answered with chapter and verse.

Listening to them share with one another, they would meaningfully encourage and challenge one another from the Bible. They quickly found key verses for spiritual guidance and answers to life’s problems. In many ways they were inspirational leaders who modeled Biblical knowledge and its practical usage.

Systematic Theology Develops Maturity

At first they did not see their problem. They resigned themselves to live with many many unanswered questions, hoping someday to find someone with the answers. They were hoping I was that person, at least for this topic. Maybe God would send them others for other topics.

We talked about how having a theology would help them understand the Bible better, interpret passages more consistently and faithfully. We talked about how our theology can grow and develop as we learn more together. Their own questions they were asking me was a perfect example for them to see the value of systematic theology.

Together we identified other topics of interest and collected Bible verses on the subject. I asked them questions to help them synthesize the Bible’s message on a few topics and be able to present the theology coherently. Confidence started to grow that they could find the answers from God’s Word on many other important topics by thinking systematically about the whole of the Bible’s message. In other words, I taught them how to do basic systematic theology.

Equipping Everyone Everywhere

This experience with these brothers and sisters was a blessing to me as much as it was to them. This is because I would see the same situation replicated in many other parts of the world. When poor interpretation combines with passion, confusion results and sometimes even heresy.

We should be aware of this struggle and work to meet the needs of churches and leaders for theological development. I have found that one of the best ways to teach the process is to focus on the basic doctrines of Christianity (Trinity, Person and Work of Christ, and Salvation) and lead them to discover the historic theology directly from the Bible for themselves. It is exciting! It has tremendous value that helps in practical ministry. And they are then well equipped to work on other doctrines by themselves.

Confessing Christ In A Hostile World

It is not likely that any of us will end up in a courtroom having to defend our practice of Christianity. 

It is even less likely that we would be wrongly convicted of something and have our property confiscated, or be confined in prison, or put to death, at least in America. Yet, we do know it is a reality for many in history, many around the world today, and perhaps we have even known a few Christians personally who have suffered greatly.

Nonetheless, we do experience many types and levels of challenges to our Christian way of life. Our society can be quite subtle and sinister in its challenges at times. Sometimes it is veiled and sometimes it is not so veiled in its hostilities toward us who profess Christ.

This can become quite personal at times, too; and when it does, we can see the benefits of giving in to daily pressures in order to keep or enhance our finances, or keep or enhance our reputations.

Never Easy, Always Necessary

Confessing Christ in a hostile world has never been easy, but it is always necessary. Luke gives us confidence for this by supplying us with words that Jesus spoke to His disciples on this matter on one occasion.

Luke 12:11–12 ESV “And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.””

Since persecution is inevitable and very personal situations of testing will keep coming, we constantly need to be preparing ourselves. Yet, we need to prepare our heart and our mindset more than the words we might say.

Since the power of the Holy Spirit is so substantial and so palpable, we should be greatly encouraged to speak up for Christ. As disciples we take the promise of the Holy Spirit above as a source of great courage. Christians need not worry about the Day of Great Persecution, or even little days of persecution, for the all powerful Holy Spirit will witness through them!

Jesus told His disciples that when they would be charged in synagogue tribunals by the elders, and even by Gentile authorities, they had no need to be anxious about their words of defense or jurisprudence. This is because the Holy Spirit would give them the perfect words at that time. Besides, it is not really possible to prepare adequately for these types of trumped-up situations anyway.

We will be aided in our testimony by the Holy Spirit as our “defense attorney;” and He is very good. God Himself will supply with the words and the courage necessary when we need it.

Trials as Opportunities

Later on, Jesus will teach about such trials as opportunities.

Luke 21:13–15 ESV “This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.”

Luke would have us remember that Jesus would be our perfect example in this. Jesus was tried by the Jewish religious authorities (i.e., Annas and Caiaphas) and by the Roman political authorities (i.e., Herod and Pilate). And He gave answers displaying great wisdom and power. Luke goes on to show us the same pattern repeated by Peter, John and the Church in Acts 3-4, and then by Stephen in Acts 7, and then again by Paul in Acts 21-28.

These examples should fill us with courage to speak out regarding Christ Jesus. The Church in history past, and the Church today, reveals the power of the Holy Spirit in action. Some of the most eloquent, bold, and inspiring words of faith have come from ordinary Christians who have suffered, even been martyred.

Besides, has not God amazed you in your times under scrutiny for the Gospel with powerful and wise words that you know could not have come from yourself, but must have come from the Holy Spirit?!

Faithfulness when under interrogation or examination is extremely important; and when the time comes we will trust God and fear God, confessing Jesus Christ, assisted by the Holy Spirit.

Our Lord Jesus Christ comforts us in John 16:33 ESV “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Spiritual Eloquence

Spiritual eloquence is not the same thing as being good at public speaking, being original with cultural insights, or being able to affect hearts with healing words.

It might include such things, but these are not necessary for spiritual eloquence and should not be confused as such, as often as they are.

Apollos: Better Than Most

God has given especially gifted individuals to His Church and for this we are especially thankful and blessed. But, there are only a few like Apollos. However, all of us are needed not just the giants.

Acts 18:24–28 ESV “Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.”

Some of us might hesitate to speak because we are not as gifted, or mimic the greats hoping to be somebody someday.  Apollos is a good example for those extra-gifted and those who look up to them. His humility stands out in being willing to be corrected by those less gifted, ordinarily gifted, and see himself as just one of the group, not really any better a Christian. Many mighty would-be Apollos types have fallen in recent years because of arrogance.

Apollos shows us the way to spiritual eloquence by his example of becoming competent and well-taught in the Scriptures and then speaking boldly out of a faith-filled fervent spirit.

Jesus: The Spirit for All of Us

But, many protest they don’t know what to say or how to say it, that they don’t know enough, and that they fear arguments they cannot answer. These reasonings reveal a decided identification with human preparations and standards of eloquence. It is not spiritual thinking.

Luke 21:13–15 ESV “This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.” 

Acts 4:13 ESV “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”

Acts 6:10 ESV “But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.”

Jesus Himself provides His followers with the wisdom needed at the time it is needed through His Spirit that indwells them. Spending time with Jesus Christ is what fills up our minds with wisdom and grants a fuller measure of His Spirit. 

Spiritual eloquence comes from Jesus Christ. Be with Jesus a lot, even more than that. And then get out and try it. Rely on the Spirit of Jesus and prove His promise true.

Paul: Not Often Out of His League

We might still find ourselves in situations that way beyond our abilities, humanly speaking. The level of sophistication from the opposition is intimidating, and so even going in the Spirit we tremble. 

1 Corinthians 2:1–5 ESV “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

This is all the more reason to stay close to the clear message of Christ, and rely on His strength, His Spirit and His purposes with that audience. This is spiritual eloquence.

Besides, who and what are we really going after? Isn’t it the salvation and maturity of those He has prepared, not trying to conquer the fierce opposition with our intellect or creativity?

Being afraid to speak for Christ and the Gospel is a matter of spiritual warfare, the evil one assaulting the spiritual gifts Christ has given to the Church. The devil and our flesh induce us to measure with human standards and encourage our rising doubts and fears. 

Spiritual eloquence is not about speaking exceptionally well, impressing others or moving people emotionally. It is simply speaking in the power of the Holy Spirit, which comes from time spent with Christ and in His Word.

Maybe you just need to speak and see what happens.

Overloading Partners With Opportunities

Like a rain that turns into a flood it can become too much of a good thing.

There is such a thing as too many partnerships and too much training. This can easily be observed in areas newly opened to the Gospel with the rush to go in and minister and the eagerness to receive all that is newly available.

It is a challenge for all potential partners to discern and decide because we all want something to work out. We want relationships. We want ministry success. 

Too Much from Too Many

Without realizing it perhaps, when many different organizations descend on an area together they bring a dizzying number of great training options. Many of the programs overlap, seeking to accomplish the same goals, and the differences in choice are not very clear to those who might want to avail themselves of the services.

So training organizations should not be offended when potential partners decide they do not need or desire what their organization has to offer. Those looking for training, coaching or consulting should take their time and select carefully and not be afraid to decline many options in order to choose what is best for them or their ministry at the time. All of us are on the same team ultimately, and we can be confident that God is working out the right partnerships for each of us all along the journey.

However, sometimes the overwhelming flood also surfaces not so noble ambitions in all of us. We maneuver to take advantage of one another to selfishly acquire resources or claim the successes or others through partnership. Yet, even in these situations it can be mutually beneficial for the advance of the Gospel, and over time the Lord exposes jealousies and ministry greed and matures His people.

Too Much from Only One

It is also possible that even just one organization or church can offer too many options. Being so eager to help, with the resources lined up to be poured in, a new large vision is ready to be unleashed.

The vision might be too large for the potential partners, or different than what they truly want and need to advance the Gospel in their society. On the other hand, there may be no vision but merely a lot of varied activities planned based upon all the skills available from the church or organization.

Being over eager it is hard to discern if potential partners are ready to receive and engage, or simply willing to work together. This over eagerness also makes it hard for potential partners to stay true to their vision and assess rightly what partnership with a particular church or organization will mean and what will be the results.

Stop the Flood

Too many options of good things can keep our friends from selecting the best.  We make similar ministry judgments, saying “no” to the good in order to say “yes” to the best. We should expect and actually encourage our potential partners to do the same, even if it means not selecting what we have to offer. 

Learn about your potential partners’ real needs in their context. Listen well and observe carefully and be willing to modify or customize what you have to offer. If your church or organization is offering too much or too many options, spread out. Match your efforts to the capacity of your parters. Find more partners or locations.

Not everyone needs the services you offer. Many different types of services are needed, and your thing is not the only thing and it will not be the best thing for for everyone. Relax and follow the Spirit’s leading and don’t be jealous. God has a place for everyone to serve.

If Pastors Would Just Show Up

Today I filled the pulpit for a pastor friend of mine who is in Africa on his first cross-cultural mission trip to train national pastors.  I was so surprised to hear he was doing this and can hardly wait to talk to him when he returns!

Churches Sharing Their Pastors

I commended that congregation today for their faith, selflessness and their broad vision for the advance of the Gospel in the world!  They are a future Kingdom oriented church!

Many churches are selfish and are unwilling to share their pastor with the world, even for a couple of weeks a year.  If their pastor wants to go on a mission trip he would have to use his vacation time and pay for it himself.  The truth is that mission work is no vacation, especially for pastors.  Pastors usually work harder on mission trips than they do in their regular ministry.

Instead, churches should consider setting aside ministry funds for their senior pastor to travel 2-4 weeks a year on cross-cultural mission work.  In today’s globalized world and globalized church the expectation of pastors becoming personally involved should be a given.  Some churches might need to give their pastor a little push (or shove) to get out the door because he might feel like there is too much to take care of at the church right now.

This investment will not only advance the Kingdom in various parts of the world, but will expand the world view of every pastor.  This in turn will expand the worldview of many churches.  And once this happens, who knows what awesome global church-mission partnerships will emerge!?

Pastors Doing What They Do Best

I am looking forward to my pastor friend’s return later this week and hearing his stories of how just two weeks in central Africa changed many people’s lives and ministries!  Also, I want to hear what he thinks God might have next for him and his church in His Mission!

There are countless way to be involved in world missions.  Yet perhaps one of the easiest, and at the same time most useful, way for pastors to be involved is as pastors.  The vast majority of pastors around the world would love to have quality practical training in preaching, shepherding and leading from those who have already done it or are currently doing it.

Pastors, think about how others have invested in you, your life and ministry.  You could do the same thing for fellow pastors in even more difficult and needier places in the world.  You are wanted and needed and will make a huge difference!

Can you set aside your excuses for couple weeks, and give it a try?  Pastors need encouragement from fellow pastors.  Just get on a plane and get over there and see how the Lord Jesus brings about the fullness of His blessing to them and to you!

And when you return, please tell me your stories.

If Prayer Works There, It Must Work Here Too

If you want to change your prayer life go on a mission to a difficult location.

Even within one week you will learn to pray in new ways for new things, and see God at work as you have never seen Him before.

Different Lives, Different Prayers

Our teams from our church prayed for safety from militants, healing for suffering children and freedom from demons and their influence.  And we do have our stories of favor with powerful leaders, healings that led to salvation and spiritual warfare that brought glory to Christ and the Gospel.

It was very important for us to learn, that although those seemed like exotic prayer requests to us at the time, they are normal prayer requests for most Christians in the world today.

But, we also prayed for more normal things to us like unity on the team, success with the Gospel, general health and safety, Spirit inspired words to speak, stamina, love for all kinds of people, and the list goes on.  These are just as spiritual of requests.

God answered what we considered unusual requests in ways that changed our thinking.  But He answered our more usual requests so immediately and palpably that we were just as amazed!

We would return home from these mission campaigns having learned that prayer works, that our faith works.  Actually, we learned that God is mightily at work in the world to bring glory to His Name through Jesus Christ and crush His opponents in the spiritual realm!

Now, Different Prayers in Our Lives

We learned that not only does prayer really work, but how to pray more according to His will.  Our Lord Jesus taught us about His Mission, our role in it and the place of prayer.

John 14:12–14 ESV ““Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

To pray in Jesus’ name means that we are praying for His honor and glory to increase, for the Gospel to advance, and with confident trust in Him for the details.

We started to pray very differently, more fervently and focused. We learned to pray for more important things in people’s lives and with greater confidence and simplicity.   Prayer meetings became lively encouraging and visionary experiences, not the dull and poorly attended ones you might avoid.

1 John 5:14–15 ESV “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”

Prayer worked there, so it must work here as well.  It is not that God didn’t answer our prayers before we went.  But, we became more observant, concerned for the answers that would advance the name of Jesus Christ.  We became more faithful, sensitive to the true needs, especially the spiritual needs, of those around us.  We became more faith-filled, praying like we meant it and that we believed God cared.

Even more importantly we learned how best to be praying four our national partners and our missionaries.  Many have returned often; and some have signed up for a new life and Gospel mission in a different part of the world!

Married Couples In The Crosshairs

Married couples require special attention when serving on short term mission teams.  

Strength and Weakness

Most often they are strong assets to the team, but sometimes they are not because of the unique pressures they are subjected to by being on the team together.  Those who are especially vulnerable are those recently married, new to mission work, and those with many stressors in their lives back home.

If the husband and wife have ministered together before in a cross-cultural context they will definitely be an asset to the team.  But, if they haven't they are most likely in for a surprise.  Even those with healthy marriages will be challenged more than they think and need to be prepared.

When serving on a team that is attempting to make significant evangelistic inroads into a region where there is strong resistance to the Gospel, the spiritual warfare will be intense.  Married couples will be in the crosshairs of the enemy.

All married couples have relationship struggles they are working on.  These will be intensified on the mission trip both due to the nature of the whole experience and also the evil one taking advantage of their weakened position. 

For example, married couples often find themselves fearing for one another’s safety more than they do back home, often unreasonably, and then they are not sure why.  Adding to this stress is the fact that times of intimacy can be hard to find because of the unique busyness and exhaustion the mission work demands.  

Helping the Couple and the Team

As a mission team leader, you will need to be prepared to do some basic marriage counseling.  This starts with the pre-trip training.  It is wise to let your married couples know about the challenges they will be facing and help them develop a prayerful mindset and strategy to face them.

When on the trip, be gentle in dealing with them when they are struggling.  Most likely they will be embarrassed knowing that the team might even know about their conflicts and be concerned for them and lose focus on the mission.

Remind them of the growth opportunity.  Encourage them to table some topics for when they get home.  Advise them to be extra gracious with one another while on the mission and not miss the opportunities in front of them, which is the reason they signed up in the first place!

Philippians 1:27 ESV “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,”

As a practical matter, you might want to put the husband and wife on separate sub-teams so each of them can have their own experiences of success and encouragement.  This will also give them opportunities to serve and interact with the larger team and help maintain unity and focus for everyone.

Short term mission trips are wonderful for married couples to experience together.  Just be selective on which could you take along, and how many you can handle.  Be spiritually perceptive as a team leader in order to help your team with their relationships and to successfully accomplish their mission together as a team.

What Religion Are You?

In many parts of the world you can tell a person’s religion by the clothes they wear.

A Common Question

Where I have been traveling and ministering lately, it is very common for people to ask, “what religion are you?”  It is a question of genuine interest.  It is a question meant to lead to a religious conversation.

At first, I was surprised by this openness to discuss matters of such significance as God and our proper relationship to Him.  I have enjoyed a number of these conversations, from a wide range of belief systems.

But I also learned very quickly that this seeming openness turns out so often to be nothing more than a front for an opportunity to promote one’s own obscure religious sect with it’s smiling heavy-set guru.

An Uncommon Question

In the USA one of the quickest and surest ways to offend someone is to ask him or her, “what religion are you?”  And in our present cultural climate there is a high likelihood that you will be talking with a “none,” so the answer is going to be boring or undefined spiritual nonsense.

We might be afraid to ask because we expect closed responses.  We expect offense, anger or disgust that we would dare touch on such a personal and potentially politically-charged subject.

But I have found that such closed responses are very thin.  People are often closed but open.  They are waiting for you and me to ask one or two more questions, and then they will be glad to enter a discussion.

Push Through to the Openness

So, might we find ways to ask the question, “what religion are you?” and find the openness that is behind the closed-ness?

People want to relax and discuss.  We need not fear or take offense at people’s initial responses.  We are not promoters of some man-made religion that will make people feel better about themselves.

We enjoy honest dialogue and the opportunity to show how Jesus Christ brings meaning, order and happiness to all aspects of our personal lives and our life together in community.

A Gospel Deprived Of The Gospels

When sharing the Gospel with people, we tend to spend too much time in the epistles and too little time in the Gospels.

Presentation Evangelism

Typically, we have a presentation prepared to give to someone or to a group of people.  It is logically structured and has Scripture verses to match our points. 

Most of the Bible quotations will come from the letters of the New Testament, and then a few from the Old Testament Law or prophets. When the Gospels are quoted it is limited to a sentence that makes a quick theological point.

This is a fine way to share the Gospel.  It is direct, succinct, simple and systematic.  And it makes the decision clear.  Though this approach works well in many settings, it is not always the best method to use.  

Missing Information

All around the world people are missing the story of Jesus Christ.  Most have never ever heard it, not even once.  And those who have, usually don’t remember much or very well, and need to hear it again.

From my experience, some of the most common questions are: Who was Jesus?  When and where did He live?  What kinds of things did He teach and do?  What is the meaning of the cross?  They want to hear stories.

Storytelling Evangelism

The four Gospels were written by the four Evangelists with evangelistic purposes in mind.  They were doing evangelism as they wrote their accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.  And they even show examples of Jesus Himself doing evangelism.

Jesus rarely gave people straight answers, but answers that would challenge theological assumptions and lifestyle behaviors.  Even His speeches were structured to make people search more honestly for truth and righteousness, rather than supply answers.  

His style quickly separated people into two groups, those who wanted to follow Him, and those who would rather have nothing to do with Him.  But even those in this last group would remember what He taught them.

Choosing a Method

The presentation approach works extremely well with those people who are ready, or those who need a quick overview of Christianity.  The storytelling approach works better with those less ready, have little knowledge, or those who have little interest at all.  

Don’t always lay it all out early.  Valuable conversation might get lost.  Instead, select a story from the Gospel accounts to tell about Jesus.  Then ask questions.  Listen to the answers.  Give people time to think, process and ask further questions.  You already know the Gospel presentation, so relax and enjoy how the Spirit leads!

Many time you might find it best to combine the approaches.  If so, start with the stories.  Don’t assume people already know them.  Be careful not to let your Gospel be deprived of the Gospels.  It is the best part!

Churches Know Best How To Do Church

In the past few months, I have worked with two churches on two different paths toward developing their global mission focus. 

One church started right off with an exploratory trip to a specific region of the world to find a national ministry partner with whom they might work together for training other pastors and leaders.  Now they are figuring out what their partnership will look like over the next three years as they plan and execute trainings twice a year together. 

The other church started with a careful year-long in-depth examination of their opportunities, putting in a lot of thought in defining their future three to five year partnership.  Now they are excited to get over there with a team and get engaged with the official partnership.

The first church found a reliable guide and went overseas to see what would happen, and now is working hard on defining the partnership.  The second church found a trustworthy consultant to lead them through the discovery process, and now is going overseas with clear expectations to maximize their ministry.

There are many other ways for churches to begin and to develop global partnerships that contribute to the growth of the church around the world.  There are multitudes of variables to consider, but church partners are more desired and more valuable than they often realize.

More Desired than Expected

Church partnerships are crucial and highly effective for church planting and leadership development around the world.  For many churches this is news to them.  They are simply used to supporting individuals or projects.  

But, those they send often dream about a church who would partner with them in the work itself.  Mission agencies and other parachurch organizations are looking for churches to become significant players in cross-cultural contexts.  And national partners long for relationships with healthy churches that can help them accomplish even more with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and for His Kingdom.

This is because the heart of the matter is relationships.  Individual missionaries can only do so much, even if they are part of a great team, and have deep relationships with those with whom and to whom they minister.  Agencies will relate at a different level and in more organizational ways, and they will be instrumental in a variety of unique contributions.  More is needed and it is something only churches can provide.

More Beneficial than Expected

National ministry partners might be planting new churches or strengthening existing ones, and on the side they are probably initiating a whole lot of other very good ministries.  What they so often need and want is a church, or two or three working together, to help them figure out their next ministry steps.

The most obvious reason is that a reasonably healthy and successful church must know how to do church well.  Resources and seminars are wonderful gifts, yet even more wonderful are relationships with other churches attempting the same things in their own context, who might be able to provide next level mentoring.

Church partnerships come with a lot of relationships:  pastors to pastors, leaders to leaders, members to members, men, women and young people.  Along with these ever growing number of relationships come more prayer, support, and encouragement from regular church people living regular lives.

Partnership takes on a much richer meaning because of these types and levels of relationships that crisscross throughout each of the churches and ministries involved.  This in turn makes all the training, coaching and mentoring all the more beneficial.  In addition, churches that make good partners are often well networked for access to further assistance.

When it comes to doing church, whether starting them, growing them or maturing them, churches know best how to do church.

How might your church develop a global mission focus, a partnership that will advance the mission in a less-reached area of the world?  Would such an approach capture the hearts and minds of your congregation?  In doing so, they will be launched into a previously unknown world of human need and the powerful working of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 3:20–21 ESV “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

Raiding Temples

Instead of raiding temples for their artifacts or valuables, our teams would raid them of their worshippers.

Temples in certain parts of Asia are a great place to find those people who are interested in spiritual discussion.  At the same time, this is where we have met some of the most materialistic people we have ever met.  We were surprised to learn that great prosperity seemed to be a standard motivation behind idolatry.

Greetings on the Pathway

Our teams have found that the most fascinating temples are the ones hidden far from the main city in Asia.  With a team of a few foreigners and a few national partners, finding them can be as easy as asking a few questions of friendly locals.

In the morning there are many people arriving to make offerings of food or money, to pray, some to take in the beautiful surroundings.  One young couple we met thought it was a good place to go on their first date.

Our team would all be praying as we walked the path and talked with people.  Religion would be the obvious topic at a religious site.  And this can go in so many directions when learning from people about their lives and their aspirations, and how it connects to being at a temple.

After making a few visits to different temples and talking with the pilgrims we soon discovered that many of them did not believe in the religion they were practicing.  Some would tell us they performed the worship because it was what their family did, but then quickly jump to the more common explanation that it might work in brining them more luck for a better future.

This desire for job promotion, being famous, deathbed healing, or coming into a financial windfall was extremely strong.  When asked if they really believed that worshipping the images helped bring greater prosperity into their lives, or health for their loved ones, they would usually pause and state honestly that they just didn’t know about such things.

A number of people would tell us about their hope to learn more about a true god they sensed must be out there.

Eating Lunch Together

Not everyone on the path was so friendly and open.  Some would dismiss us or just glare, others would curse and threaten with a half-hearted chase.  And then there were a few who were under the palpable influence of evil spirits.

In spite of these, from our experience about half of those we encountered were eager to talk, and continue the spiritual nature of the conversation.  So we would often go to lunch together with a small group of temple worshippers and our team, about 10-12 of us all together, after they finished their religious activities.

During a relaxing meal together we could get to know one another a little better.  And since we had already started the spiritual conversation, we could get right into more meaningful conversation.

We would continue to talk about personal relationships, success and happiness, about life and death, sickness and healing, spirits and the power to bless and curse, and such things.  Whatever seemed to be the most pressing concern is the topic we would use to introduce the Word of God and its wisdom from the only true God.

We would continue to share stories from our own lives, and each of us about our personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.  The Gospel was new to all of them, having never heard about the Bible or its message of salvation, and a full and eternal life in Christ.

Some would shut down at Gospel answers, but still listen.  There would almost always be two or three people with great interest and many questions.  These individuals would want to introduce us to more people with similar spiritual interests and move further in our conversation.  And so, dinner plans for that evening were now underway.

Sharing before Believing

It was these next set of meals, questions and conversations that were the most lively, enjoyable and resulted in the most progress.  Everyone at these dinners was eager to learn and grow in spiritual ways.

We would have our new friends retell the story of Jesus Christ to their friends and relatives the best they could.  With our promise to help fill in the gaps they had confidence to share the Good News.  It was always fun to hear which part of the Gospel they chose to emphasize—most often it was the Resurrection of Jesus.

The free flowing conversational style allowed us to revisit all the topics from the earlier lunch, and even those discussed way back on the path to the temple.  Certainly, no one at that dinner, or anyone we met earlier that day, would ever see worship at the temple the same.

They would now have to consider the message they heard from the Bible about sin, salvation and hope in Jesus Christ the Lord.  Their enthusiasm for material blessings was challenged, and redirected to something much more valuable than previously thought about.

Our real hope and the plan behind all of this was to start a church with this final group of people, if the Lord chose to save among them.  Typically one of two would profess faith in Christ, a handful of others who were still considering Christ would commit to meet regularly to study the Bible.  All agreed to ask others to join the group that one of our national partners would lead.

That was all in a day’s work.  This scenario was being played out by two of three of our teams every day for a week at different temple locations.

That is why raiding temples is one of our favorite pastimes.

Mobilizing Near Culture Mission Efforts

It is not about who can do it best, or the quickest and easiest.  And it is certainly not about who can do it for the least amount of money!

It is about results.  It is always about results.  And the best part is that it is also about relationships.

So, Who is the Best?

Suppose there is an unreached people group somewhere in the world your church wants to reach.  Actually there are over 6600 of them as of today.  How might you reach them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Consider the fact that there are most likely Christians and churches in nearby societies who could reach them better than you.  This is because they look more similar, speak more similarly, and understand so much more than you.

Consider also, that it is probable that they might need and want some training in strategy and skills, or other foundational matters.  It is highly likely that you would be able to provide what is needed, or find it for them.

And be aware that there might be an enormous amount of history of which you are unaware.  This history is reality, and it comes with fears and misunderstandings.  It will take patience and perseverance to bring transformation with the Gospel.

What will you do to build relationships, and share a common vision?  What will you do to truly share the mission, not take it for yourself nor push it all on them?

It is Not Us or Them, but All of Us Together

Doing it alone, especially if you are well resourced, can accomplish a lot sometimes, but not most times.  What appear to be astounding results very often prove to be very short-lived, if you take the time to honestly examine the long-term results.

In the long run developing partnerships will have the greatest impact.  It is not about who is better equipped.  It is about equipping, and even more important, it is about empowering others!

There is one People of God spread out over the globe.  The key is working together in spreading the Gospel, planting churches, developing leaders and fulfilling the larger vision of the Kingdom of God.

The concept of working together is not usually worked on enough.  If it hasn’t become hard to do, then you probably haven’t yet attained real togetherness, real partnership or deep relationship.

Think Resourcefully

When considering reaching the unreached, let us consider how near-culture cross-cultural mobilization might be more effective in both the short-term and in the long-term.  And let us allow this to inform our strategy, correct our assumptions and channel our desires for the Gospel mission.

Let us not be quick to assume a solution.  Let not our first assumption be that we alone need to place our own residential missionaries to get the job done, or simply pay national workers to do it, or get them the best materials, or send the best short-term teams, or whatever sounds quick, easy and inexpensive.

Very often, most of the resources necessary are close by!

For The Thrill Of The Hunt

Each year a delight of many young children is an Easter egg hunt.  Finding each egg brings great excitement!

Similarly, God has hidden His elect, those chosen for salvation, all around the world for the Church to find by going out and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Election and Effort

It is popular today to think of the doctrine of election as contrary to evangelistic effort.  If God has already determined whom He will save, then why should we share the Gospel, what difference will it make?  Yet, at the beginning of the modern mission movement, it was those who cherished these doctrines of God’s sovereignty in salvation who so often led the way in pioneering mission.

The Apostle Paul spoke and wrote very strongly about God’s sovereignty in salvation in many places in Scripture.  At the same time he was the most zealous and successful of all missionaries.  Such ideas are often combined closely as a good fit.

For example, he summarized his life and ministry, and his motivation with these words in 2 Timothy 2:10, “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”

Guaranteed Success

We have a guaranteed success.  We know that God will save His chosen ones and that He will do it by means of the Gospel.  So, when we speak about Christ, people will get saved!

There is a great sense of freedom when we understand that our faithfulness extends to proclamation only.  God does the converting.  We should ask ourselves therefore, if we are preaching enough?

It is easy to become preoccupied with building comfortable Christian lives and churches.  And then, one day it dawns on us that when we talk about evangelistic efforts, our best stories are further in the past than we realized.

We need to regain the vision, the courage and the sacrifice.  We need to get out there and re-experience the thrill of the hunt.  This can be done any day we choose to do it—whether it is in our own communities, or in less reached communities nearby.  Better yet, just get on a plane and go to the places where no one has yet heard!

The thrill of the hunt can be experienced as pleasant and fun as children on an Easter egg hunt.  The thrill can also be experienced as wild as a safari hunting expedition filled with real dangers.  Which adventure would you like to try?

What Was So Funny? Human Souls

They started laughing at us before we even got to the most difficult part of the Gospel.  

What triggered it was an explanation of God’s creation, specially how He made human beings in His own image, different from all other living beings.

Made in God’s Image

As we did often in this part of southeast Asia, we entered a village found a group of friendly people, and directed the conversation to spiritual matters.  According to plan, we started with the first verse in the Bible and explained who God is as the Creator.

You know how the story goes, but they didn’t.  There is one all-powerful God who made the heavens and the earth.  He made inanimate things, living beings, but He uniquely made humanity in His own image with a soul and in relationship with Himself.

There were some animals nearby.  So, we used them as a contrasting example.  People have souls that will live eternally.  As soon as we mentioned this, the uproar of laughter began.  I was waiting for the ridicule to come a little later in the conversation, honestly.

They went on and on about how our God, the Creation story and our view of people was ludicrous.  We learned that this village had been strongly influenced by atheism replacing their heritage of animism, and seeing all religious views as nothing more than superstitious.

Obviously to them we all die alike and that was that.  They paused in silence to see what we would say next, staring at each of us on the team, waiting expectantly for more laughable material.

We talked about the advantages we have over cattle and chickens, of course.  We went on to talk about our moral and relational capacities, and especially the matter of our spiritual relationship to God and our responsibilities as stewards of His Creation.

They listened politely, probably surprised that we weren’t shaken by their attempt to humiliate us.  After explaining much more about the character of God and His actions in the world, we landed upon the most important historical matters of the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, reign and return of Jesus Christ.

Yes, we talked about all of that, and with new courage they helped inspire by their opposition.  However, that was the end of the twenty minute exchange with these twenty people.  They took the Gospel materials, even though they were not that interested.  

Kids Swinging from a Tree

We were headed down the street debriefing our experience when we happened upon a large tree with young children swinging from ropes tied to its branches.  We stopped to talk with them, and within minutes many of the children from the previous encounter showed up wanting to know more about God.

We had some video CDs with us that dramatized the Creation and Redemption stories.  So we gave out a few of them to the older children who appeared to be the leaders.  But in front of everyone we made them agree to the condition that they had to show them to all the families of the village.  

They thought about it and talked about it among themselves for a minute and agreed.  Then, immediately one of them led us to a house right away.  Children often make for great evangelists.  We thought we were done in this village, but apparently not yet.  

Once inside and having met everyone we watched one of the videos together.  At least we weren’t laughed at this time.  After the movie, we ended up sharing a small meal together, talking a little about the movie (they weren’t that interested) and simply enjoying one another as people created in God’s image.

My experience in that village that day increased my love for humanity, all people made in God’s image—yet, fallen and in need of healing and redemption in Jesus Christ.  I still find myself praying for those people by face, that the Lord would use those Gospel materials (and maybe other messengers of His) to cause them to see and understand the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ.

Don’t Think About How Far They Must Come

Sometimes we give up on sharing the Gospel before we even start. 

We can discourage ourselves when we mull over how much people need to know in order to come to Christ.  We overwhelm ourselves when we contemplate all their beliefs that have to change and how they need to completely reorient their lives.

Why would they even listen?!  Why would they ever want to believe?!

Give People the Opportunity to Hear

This type of reasoning is one of our problems in sharing the Gospel.  We think through it too much.  We come up with a whole bunch of scenarios that includes their religious backgrounds, lifestyle and objections.  In fact, we might find ourselves coming up with more reasons not to believe than others have probably ever thought of themselves!

I remember some of my early experiences with evangelism walking onto a beach full of fun or entering a crowded cafeteria and thinking to myself “I don’t think anyone is going to be interested.”  But every time the Lord led me to people who were interested, often very interested.  They didn’t all come to Christ, but many wanted to talk, argue or share their opinions, and were thankful for the opportunity.

Even last year I was sitting in an airport in south Asia next to a Muslim man.  We both had about six hours before our next flight and we were both exhausted.  I didn’t want to talk about the Gospel, thinking I am too tired for this and he doesn’t look like the type who would be interested anyway.  Then, only two minutes into our polite greetings he asked me directly about Jesus Christ.  So we joined our tables and discussed Bible passages he was troubled about for the next four hours.

I still need to remind myself to just share the message.  Stop overthinking it and be prayerful.  Follow where the Holy Spirit takes the conversation.  This is basic faithfulness in evangelism.  

Give People the Opportunity to Believe

Whether it seems people are ready or not, ask them to put their trust in Christ.  And then wait for their response.  If we don’t think they are ready we don’t ask.  But, just ask.  The worst they can say is “no” and this only means, “not now.”  So, that means that the day might be coming when they will say “yes.”

Asking outright impresses upon people the urgency of Gospel consideration.  Let’s them know it is not a nebulous concept to trust in Christ.  Explain it.  Always issue a general call, for you never know when God will issue His irresistible internal special call for salvation.

Sharing the Gospel does not have to be time consuming either, which is often another concern of ours.  It is okay to only cover what you have time for.  You can talk more later, or connect them with others, with resources or nearby churches.

Romans 10:13–14 ESV “For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”

There is More than One Goal

It helps to remember that the ultimate goal is not the only goal.  Perhaps it would be better to think about what might be the next reasonable step for the people with whom you are sharing.

Evangelism becomes relaxing when you can simply enjoy people for who they are as people created in God’s image and share in their lives.  Maybe they want help overcoming a certain objection that has been bothering them.  Maybe they need to meet and enjoy conversation with a genuine Christian.  Maybe they have to unburden themselves with hurt or pain.  Maybe it is time for them to open up about sin struggles in their lives.

There are likely many smaller goals along the way to salvation that must be met.  And what we often consider the goal—“being saved”—is really not the ultimate goal anyway.  Instead, it is entrance into an eternal life with the ultimate goal of knowing and enjoying God.   As Jesus said in John 17:3 ESV “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

Encouragement in evangelism comes when we enjoy the process and our assigned roles in it.

1 Corinthians 3:5–9 ESV “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”

Adding Hell To God’s Plan For People’s Lives

He said, “I already have a wonderful life, thank you.”

This was a response we received often when presenting the Gospel to our dorm mates in college using the evangelism tool when had been trained to use.

Something was Missing

Obviously our friends didn’t know the fullness of the wonderful life they were missing by not having Christ.  And some of them surely didn’t have a very good life and were covering this up.  How could we get through to them?

As we (our discipleship group of four) examined our Gospel presentation more carefully, we realized that a very important point was absent—the reality of hell.  Sin was discussed but only as preventing good things in life.  Honestly, most of our friends at this school were greatly privileged and didn’t really see it that way.

So, we figured out a place to insert this discussion with a couple Bible verses.  Hopefully, this would open up some discussion.

Hebrews 9:27 ESV “. . . it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” 

2 Thessalonians 1:9 ESV “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.”

A New Approach

Every week we would go out evangelizing in the dorms, so the following week we tried our new approach.  As a result, the conversations got more serious, personal and lively.   We were pleased.

Many of our friends hadn’t thought about the consequences of sin due to offending an infinitely holy and just God.  Then, when we talked about the love and mercy of God in Christ there was more interest, overall.  The Cross and Resurrection of Christ became a topic of curiosity.

I think we improved the evangelism tool.  It over-emphasized the love of God and the benefits of being rightly related to Him.  It under-played the justice and righteousness of God.  But, no tool is perfect or complete in itself; it is just a tool to be used with creativity.

The best part was that many of our conversations with people no longer fell flat and just ended.  Many wanted to continue talking about the Bible, their lives, religion, world issues and such.  And a good number were interested enough to join in discussion groups or small group Bible studies on the person and work of Christ.

What Might You Improve?

What tools are you using?  Are they as effective as you think they should be?  You don’t have to throw them out and criticize them.  Perhaps, you could make some improvements.

Crafting A First Liturgy

This group of five friends and co-workers were filled with joy after receiving Jesus Christ.  They looked at one another and our team members, and asked with eager expectation, “now what do we do?!”  

They didn’t know any other believers in their small city in southeast Asia.  How were they to worship God together and grow in Christ together?  This is what they wanted to know.  What would you tell them?  How might you help them?

Worship 101

Here is what those creative team members of ours did.  They helped those new believers see themselves as the beginning of a church and helped them craft their first worship service.

The team had to think through all of this from the ground up, looking at Scripture again for themselves.  They were meeting with the new believers the next day in the afternoon  to answer their question, and they had to keep it simple.

They decided to teach on the most basic elements:  prayer, Scripture reading, singing praise to God, teaching the Word, caring and praying for one another.  More involved topics such as the Lord’s Supper, and matters of church life, would need to be covered by national partners later.

Nonetheless, this still would not be as simple a meeting as it might sound.  These new friends didn’t know anything about prayer.  What is prayer?  How do Christians pray?  And when it comes to reading Scripture, let alone studying it together, where should they start?  How will they understand properly?  Singing will be wonderful, but what kind of songs should they sing?  Where will they find the songs and music?

At least the part about sharing their lives, caring for one another, and praying for one another would be easy.

Worship Practicum

The biggest obstacle in all their meetings early that week was the constant distraction of mobile phones.  So, when they wrote out the liturgy for the group it began with the ritual of silencing mobile phones in order to focus on worshipping God and learning from His Word.

The mission team crafted a simple order of worship to follow for now.  They provided the group of new believers with many Scriptures to use and study, and of course Bibles for those who didn’t have one.  

They talked through all the worship ideas together, looking up Scripture passages and learning together by asking and answering questions.  It was a blessed time for all!

Then it was time to do it—how exciting this would be!  This was their very first experience of worshipping God and as a community of believers in Jesus!  So the group of eight, Asians and Americans, worshipped God together for a long time.  

When the afternoon came to a close, the new Christians asked how often their group should get together and worship the Lord and study His Word?  What they really wanted to know was how soon they could do it again!

More to Come

For all that was accomplished that day and that week with this small group of believers, there was so much more for them to learn about worship and living life together in Christ.  They had many more questions.  And our sub-team of three had hearts full of so much more to share.

1 Thessalonians 2:8 ESV “So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”

There is so much more to this story that could be told.  Likewise, there are many similar stories to tell coming out from this region of the world, both of success and failure.  One final valuable lesson to highlight is that working alongside local Christians and under the vision of local churches is a great honor and comfort.  

It would be up to our trusted partners to nurture this group of believers, and help them grow into a thriving young church.  Ultimately, we must entrust new believers and young churches to the Lord’s care in whom they have believed.  And He will care for them!