When I first began my ministry, I was strongly tempted to judge success based on the number of students who showed up to hear me speak on Sunday morning. To tell the truth, I still struggle in that area from time to time, but my desire to impress and wow the large crowds has faded a bit. Allow me to explain.
One book that has deeply shaped my thinking about ministry is called The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman. His book essentially describes Jesus' techniques to infiltrate the world with His message. How did Jesus ensure that when He was gone, the world would hear of His death and resurrection?
He certainly spent time in front of large crowds, often teaching for thousands of people at a time. But large-group evangelism was not his primary strategy.
Instead, he spent the majority of his time building into twelve diverse and often frustratingly obtuse young men. He especially narrowed in on three of them: Peter, James and John.
Instead of expecting five thousand people to effectively carry his message around the world, he relied on a small group with whom he shared His life, His theology, and His deepest teaching.
Jesus understood a valuable principle: A large crowd, while it serves a purpose in the teaching process, is not the most effective means of passing on a legacy. The most effective means is life-on-life, eye-to-eye, heart-to-heart with a few close disciples.
Consequently, the biggest slices of my time are now spent with a key group of interns and student leaders. I love teaching for large crowds, but I realize that the greatest legacy I can hope to leave is a few young men and women who are well-equipped to share the Gospel and to reproduce disciples.
Consider those who truly shaped who you are today. Were they those who believed in you and invested personally in your life, or those whom you only observed from a distance? For most of us, I suspect it is the latter.
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