One by One
I went to New York City a couple years ago with a school field trip. For a few hours one morning, I was watching over 14, 7th and 8th graders in Times Square by myself. The students were great, but I was in hyper-shepherd mode. I’m glad that I didn’t just started barking like a sheepdog until I had them all in a corner of the M&M store. Now that I look back on it, I realize that all those kids except one had a cell phone, and that New York City, especially that part is remarkably safe. When I think about my friends and family who are lost without Jesus, I don’t have that sense of urgency and dread over what might happen to them, and what will happen to those who are spiritually lost and don’t get found is unimaginably worse than being 14 and lost in Times Square with a cell phone.
I just wanted to let your heart break a little for the lost people around you. They are sheep without a shepherd, and not only do we know the shepherd, but he has deputized all of us to make his offer of reconciliation known in every corner of the world.
We live in a small town in a smallish county. There are about 16,000 people in our county, and most of them, are what Jesus would call lost sheep. Trying to reach 9,10, or 11 thousand people would be beautiful and incredible. How would you reach out to 10,000 people?
Over the past few months I’ve been praying for vision to lead the church. I’m so thankful to be part of a church that preaches the Gospel freely, that loves and likes each other, that cares about people who are in need, that is receptive to me as a pastor. I think that God has even more for us, so I’ve been seeking him in the silence of the morning and the night, and praying “lead me.” The only thing that has come to my mind so far that seems like vision is the idea of reaching out to our county and area “one by one.” There was even a little illustration in my mind that I think is from God.
What if we begin to reach out to ONE person at a time? Each of us pick ONE person that we see often and begin to pray for them for their salvation and to be open with them about our faith as we daily walk with Jesus. We will ask someone who works with our ONE or is in a club with them to join is in reaching out to the ONE. We will ask someone else to pray for ONE and to pray for us as we reach out to ONE.
You may have heard the story of the boy who was standing by the seashore where thousands of starfish had washed up onto shore to die. The boy began gently tossing the starfish back into the ocean one by one. A man came by and scoffed at the boy: “What a fool you are. You can never save all those starfish, and what does it matter any way?” The boys answered the man: “It matters to this one,” as he tossed a star fish into the ocean, “and this one,” as he tossed another.
Only God could bring about a revival of faith that would reach all or nearly all of the people in our county. Only God can reach your ONE, but God has chosen us to be his voice and hands and feet in a world of lost people, most of whom do not understand the good news that Jesus is calling all sinners to come in freely to his kingdom. Will you join me in reaching out to one person?
