Today, the ministry of Jesus Christ has extended across the earth as the largest movement of any kind in world history. But, Jesus’ ministry began rather humbly. His first disciples were simply invited by Him to hang out and spend some time together. John 1:39 reports that Jesus invited a few men, “Come… and you will see.” Later on, John 1:46 reports Jesus asking a few more men, “Come and see.”
It is not uncommon for Christians to get a bit nervous about evangelizing other people. What if people want to fight and argue, and we burn the bridge in our relationship? What if they raise hard objections about Christianity that we are not prepared to answer?
Jesus’ simple example shows us how to do ministry. Pursue people in your life, and begin simply, humbly, and relationally. The Christian life is best understood by spending time with people and seeing how their faith has impacted their life. That is what Jesus models.
I became a Christian in college around the age of 19. My now wife, Grace, came back into a vibrant relationship with the Lord around the same time that I did. We wanted to get married and have a family, but we had a lot to learn. One night, a couple from church invited us over for dinner at their house. As college students away from home, we did not have families we were close with nearby, so this invitation was unusual.
We went to their home and spent time interacting with the family that grew to eventually be 12 children – 10 girls and 2 boys! We watched a very fun and healthy family prepare dinner together, sit down and pray before the meal, laugh a lot, and have a short Bible story and prayer time before bed. Driving away that night, I was struck at what a holy and sacred night it had been with a truly wonderful family. For the rest of our time at college, we babysat the kids about once a week so the parents could get a date. We learned a lot about marriage and parenting by observing this godly and healthy family. Nearly two decades later, we are still friends, and I am happy to report that their grown kids are following in their parents’ footsteps.
The Kingdom of God is relational. Ministry is all about relationships and inviting people into your life so that they can observe and learn from both your good days and bad days.
Who do you need to invite into your life, to join you at church, or to get together to visit and start to build a relationship, to give a window into your life with God?