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At a Bible study in my home for English learners, I once asked the group to turn back to the first book of the Bible, intending to make a point about Adam. I said, “Let’s go to the beginning, back to the story of the time when God created the earth.” A mainland Chinese woman looked up at me and said with utter astonishment, “He did?” She had no concept of a creator God, much less of a Savior named Jesus. Months later, she came to Christ and was discipled by an Indonesian believer here at MBC Tysons. Now years later, she is a disciple-maker back in China.
That experience has helped me recognize that discipling the nations is about…
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. (Hebrews 4:11-12 NASB)
Paul urges the Church in Ephesus to use their varied gifts to build and strengthen one another up in love. Often times, there is a temptation to remain on the sidelines and leave the work of ministry up to the “professionals.”…
Did you know that you’re a minister of the Gospel? I bet you’re thinking, “I didn’t go to seminary, I’ve never even been discipled, I’m not a mature enough Christian, or God hasn’t called me to be a minister, so how can this be true?” These thoughts run rampant in many believers’ minds and feed one of the biggest misconceptions in the church—that the only minister is the pastor, but nothing could be further from the truth.
God has commanded every believer to spread the Gospel and make disciples (Matt. 28:18-20). Every Christ-follower is part of the royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:5-9), meaning you are a priest. Ephesians 4:11-12 says, “He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelist, the shepherds…