By Joel Southerland
Too often we settle for the status quo. We get comfortable with the way things have always been. But God challenges us to push past the expected—to reach wider, love deeper, go farther.
When it comes to missions, the status quo for many Christians has been to invite people to church and let the pastor tell them about Jesus.
Pastors are called to preach the gospel. They are called to invite people into a relationship with Jesus Christ from the pulpit every week and from the coffee shop every morning. Regardless of the context, pastors should open the Word, challenge, and extol.
But every church member is called to share the gospel as well. From high school students to retirees, from soccer coaches to business executives, every believer has a part in the greatest story ever told.
A redefinition of missions for churchgoers might mean they voice their convictions at work, start a gospel conversation at lunch, or invite their daughter’s piano teacher over for dinner.
But how do they get there? And what does this mean for the pastor?
Church members need an equipper, a motivator, a leader. Every great team has vision and knows the end goal.
Pastors must redefine ordinary and set the highest calling before their congregations. The message remains the same, but the approach must become more intentional.
Pastors must challenge those in their church to desire that every person in their lives experiences the same love and grace they have come to know.
Teach them how to integrate gospel truths into everyday conversations. Model a lifestyle that weaves hospitality, grace, and spiritual truths into the rhythms of everyday life.
1. Intentional training: Research done by the North American Mission Board in 2014 shows more than 80 percent of the top baptizing churches in North America train their members at least once a year in how to share their faith.
The correlation between baptism numbers and proactive evangelistic training is simply not debatable. We must not tell people to share their faith; we must instruct (and show) them how to do so.
2. Two-purpose invitation: There’s a reason taglines and advertising stick in our heads: Repetition works.
Clearly laying out the gospel each week in your sermons provides an invitation for those in attendance. But it also gives language to the believers in your congregation to share on their own during the week.
3. Celebrate sharing: Walk alongside people as they develop relationships and have gospel conversations.
Celebrate every bold step of them sharing their faith just as you would a new believer coming to faith.
This not only creates excitement and shows growth but also allows the entire community to join in prayer and celebrate when fruit develops.
As pastors call people to join God in His global mission, they must be equipped. They must know the answer for the hope they have and be ready and able to share it when asked.
Loving their neighbors, investing in their communities, and forgiving their coworkers are countercultural activities that should, and will, draw questions.
Church leaders must not only ask people to live on mission but also ready them and resource them to respond when asked why they live as they do.
JOEL SOUTHERLAND is evangelism executive director of the North American Mission Board.
