Present them complete in Christ
We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. – Colossians 1:28
My vision for ministry has changed in the past 15 years.
As a young pastor to teenagers i had visions of grandeur. While i saw myself reaching thousands and thousands my reality was a youth group of 10 kids. Five of those kids were in one family, the Carters. Whenever the Carter’s would go on vacation we would just cancel the youth group, no pastor can handle a 50% attendance drop in one week! In those days all I could think about was growth, not in depth but breadth. Despite excellent advice from my Elders I wanted a thousand kids in my youth group.
Over the years God did bless different ministries i was a part of with numeric growth. In some seasons we were blown away as we added chairs, built buildings, and learned to manage staff teams. But as our church has continued to grow my vision has changed…
While i was once consumed with visions of reaching thousands I am now realizing i have to answer to God for each person. I know it’s not my mission alone, and I know God’s power is the only path to effectiveness but still this reality is sobering.