THE BALANCED APPROACH TO MISSIONS

E t h a n   D a u d a   Y u s u f

Am I successful in my ministry and calling? Is my success measured by the size of my worship centre, the number of my church members, the amount of tithes and offerings? Who sets the standard?

Before we answer the above questions, let's consider the words of Jesus Christ in the gospel of Matthew 28.
"18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen"

The above scripture clearly states what Jesus Christ require from us. The mandate is to make disciples. How do we do this. Firstly, to baptize them, this symbolizes initiation into the body of Christ. The second is teaching them. Teaching does not simply mean having them to seat under our lectures on Wednesdays and Sundays alone.

Teaching them requires being with them more often, investing our lives in them, being fully involved in their lives without Lording over them. Teaching them means giving them the room to make mistakes and receive corrections. From what we term the great commission in Christendom, it is obvious that discipling nations is the major requirement.

Ministers all over the world have no objection to this. However, we still see a lot of negligence in discipleship. Why is it so? I believe it has to do with how different ministers view discipleship. Let's see what really is discipleship.

Let me start by stating what discipleship is not.

Discipleship is not a program. Given, we can tailor programs within discipleship, but we cannot tailor discipleship within a program.

This is what I mean. Discipleship is not a one size fits all. So if we design programs and expect people to pass through the routines and all be discipled, we are making a mistake. Because you see discipleship doesn't start with a system, but with a person. We give who we are, not what we know.

Therefore, we can't disciple a person from a distance and expect the system to help the person. In churches and Christian organizations, we have good programs like believers foundation/class, small groups, confession sessions. All these are good programs. however, we need to be involved in their lives personally, when the grace is said and they're dismissed from the assembly.

How did Jesus disciple the twelve? First of all he did not go for perfect people. They were ordinary men, Fisher men, tax collectors/"sinners," zealots/rebels. Jesus choose them not because they were perfect, but because they were willing.

He valued them over Material things, that's why Judas who was a thief handled Jesus' finances. If Jesus knew who will betray him and what hour he'll be betrayed. Believe me he knew Judas will steal, yet he gave him the money bag.

Jesus was patient with them, despite their many weaknesses, there was never an account of him being mad at them or expelling any of them. Despite Peter's denials, when Jesus rose from the dead he gave Peter the task of taking care of his sheep.

He gave them a chance to grow,  by sending them on outreach by themselves.

Most importantly, Jesus spent so much time teaching them, asking them questions and answering their questions.

Though their master, Jesus choose to serve them, he washed their feets and served them on dinning tables.

Jesus had large crowds attending his teaching sessions, but he had only few committed team members. Our focus shouldn't be on keeping so much people, but impacting so much people. Impacting so much people starts by properly handling a few who will in turn multiply after their kinds, once they're properly equipped.

Let me show you how effective it is grooming a few that will in turn, multiply after their kinds.

Two ministers were committed to their ministries. One was getting a hundred members yearly. They attended services, but we're passive in discipleship because they themselves were not discipled. So in ten years this minister had a thousand members.

Yes, I know, great work. But let's see the second minister. He invests his time in discipling only three people yearly. But the three also committed themselves to discipling another three yearly. The order kept going in the same pattern. Let's calculate and see how many people he'll impact in ten years.

Note: The first three will disciple three each, once they're equipped. And the newly equipped three will also equip another three each. So let's do the multiplication. You'll see that I will keep adding twelve to the multiplication, that's because the minister and the first three are also discipling three others yearly. Making twelve.

1year. 3
2years. 3 x 3 + 12 = 21.
3years. 21 x 3 + 12 = 75.
4years. 75 x 3 + 12 = 237.
5years. 237 x 3 + 12 = 723.
6years. 723 x 3 + 12 = 2,181.
7years. 2,181 x 3 + 12 = 6, 555.
8years. 6, 555 x 3 + 12 = 19,677.
9years. 19,677 x 3 + 12 = 59,043.
10years. 59,043 x 3 + 12 = 177,141.

It may seem like the first minister is making more progress because his congregation increases with a hundred yearly. And you'll agree with me that it is more difficult to add up a hundred yearly than it is to equip three  that'll continue the process. But in the long run we've clearly seen who made the most impact.

So, who sets the standard? Jesus.

What is the standard? Effective discipleship. (The Jesus way).
Why discipleship? Matthew 28:18--20.

Apostle Paul never remained in one place to preside over a Church. But he travels around planting many. He never ask to manage their finances. However he raised support from them to assist weaker churches. He wasn't given to luxury. However, he learned to be contented in little and in abundance.

Does that mean Paul the Apostle wasn't as successful as the leaders that presided over a large congregation?

The standard is in the bible, but we don't take time to do a microscopic analysis. Or perhaps  biblical standard does not appeals to our carnal nature.

Its high time we wake up from our material induced dreams and start doing ministry the Jesus way. Instead of focusing on building cathedrals, let's build people.

Instead of struggling to market our brand "our church," let's concentrate on evangelism. Let's invest in people and the profit will be eternal. We'll reap the harvest here on earth and eternally.

Ethan Dauda Yusuf is a well seasoned missionary and teacher of the word, who has had many years of training and preparation under Youth With A Mission (YWAM). Delivered from heavy drug abused, he is simply an extraordinary testimony of God's delivering power.

Ethan serves with World Missions Centre and Fertile Soil Church, in Accra Ghana.