In his landmark book, Good to Great, Jim Collins wrote that if there was one thing you are passionate about and you can be best at, then you should do just that one thing. We know from the Scriptures that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30). That is what we are to be “best at”. But there is an interesting verse in 1 Samuel 14:7 when Jonathan asks his armour bearer for the two of them to go up alone against the garrison of the Philistines. Listen to the armour bearer’s response: “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul.” That sounds like a passionate commitment to a godly cause.
Just to be clear: we as World Team workers are passionate about seeing people come into relationship with Christ and experiencing the community of God’s people. And then sharing this same passion with others.
In mission jargon, we would say that we are passionate about church planting, or multiplicational church planting. However, that can sometimes sound overly technical, dry, or even passion-less. Re-discovering the passion of church planting can come by saying in other ways what drives us to love God more and what gets us out of bed in the morning.
World Team workers build healthy relationships with others. As trust is established, they engage others in conversations about spiritual matters. As interest arises, WT workers offer the opportunity to discover the message of the Bible together. If interest wanes, WT workers remain strong and consistent friends. However, as the message of the Bible draws people to Christ, they are equipped by WT workers to grow in their walk with Christ and to do the same with others. These new believers come together in community and learn together what it will look like for them to be a witness for Christ where they live and work. And then whole process starts over again.
The exciting part is this passion is worked out in a variety of ways in World Team. Yet it is all focused on the same end point: a living, vibrant community of believers that is growing, multiplying itself out to three, four and five generations of new believers.
That is God’s passion for the world. May we say like that armour bearer: “Behold, I am with you heart and soul.”
Filed under: Church planting, Passion, Vision |
Thoughts Along The Journey 
Thanks for your input, David.
Just to be clear (it) is indeed a very helpful, simple way of describing what we are doing and why.
I came across it just at the right time, sitting in my brother in law`s living room, starting to prepare the annual sermon and presentation of what God is doing, for our supporters. Having done this about 30 times already, your piece is much appreciated. It is so easy to loose sight of the essentials.
You just saved me a lot of time. May I spend it wisely, besides going swimming in the nearby lake in a couple of hours. 🙂
Blessings,
Adrian
Thanks Adrian! There are 100 other ways to describe what we do, so glad I could be helpful as you approach the 30th time to share what God has called you to do. And enjoy the swimming by the way as I’m glad I could save you some preparation time.