Here is what I have been looking at all day. Many staff from across Eastern Europe & Russia, asking God to bring more students to know Him and to be involved in the ministry. They are being trained in Change Action Teams and how they can come up with creative solutions to some of the challenges that they face. It has been a fun day. We all look forward to seeing what God will do.
The next 3 days will be filled with prayer, training, discussions, brainstorming, relationship building, and lots of fun. Right now they are doing a group exercise using puzzles.
Here’s where I’d start…
What are the top 3 or 4 issues facing students in your culture?
How does Jesus fit into that issue?
How could your ministry communicate the love of Jesus in a way that is redeemable – not offensive – with no strings attached?
Do we have the resources to pull that off – even if it meant saying “no” to something else?
Do we have the desire to do that?
Those are some great points. I’ll pass them on to the team that is working on Evangelism. The big idea of this change is to get to the place where ministry is out of control through our area. We aren’t seeing students get involved in the ministry and begin to share their faith and lead others. They come to Christ, but they don’t make the next steps.
Jesus is clearly the answer to that question as well.
Here are the teams:
Spiritual Dependance
Local Leadership Development
Personal Staff Development
Spiritual Multipliers
Effective Evangelism
Here’s my only critique of that – and realize I’m speaking from a very Western mindset and do not understand the nuances of Easter Europe…
Students want to make a difference, have an impact, be a part of something larger than themselves. I’d argue that God’s wired us this way and through the years we get jaded and lose it.
So if a program/ministry is wired to be cognitive with little to no action/service behind it – not interested.
Besides that – that kind of ministry is not a fair representation of Christ. But – today’s student is not interested in joining a class or a program that doesn’t ultimately make a difference.
That’s why I’d ask the first question first…find a way to make a difference…start doing it…invite students along for the journey, disciple them along the way…
then release them back in the wild.
We only reproduce who we ARE…not what we WANT. And by focusing only on evangelism without the spiritual disciplines or developing a heart to serve the community produces immature, ineffective and incomplete followers of Jesus.
Wow…I better shut up and get back to work!!! haha