As a ministry leader, the message you have to share is life changing…not just another quick read people will forget about a few seconds after they read it. You aren’t sharing it just to hear yourself talk, after all. No, you’re sharing it to make a positive and lasting difference in others’ lives, bring glory to God and increase His Kingdom! So, what’s the best way to do that?
Take Jesus TO Them!
You have to learn how to spread your message in ways that people are actually capable of receiving it. Remember, you can only impact the lives of others when you meet them where THEY are. You cannot force them to come to where you are or where you think they should be. Yes, the goal is to bring them to Jesus…but we can only do that when we first take Jesus TO them. God doesn’t force people to come to Him, instead He meets them where they are and walks them through a process to bring them to where He wants them. Ultimately, it’s their choice whether to accept Jesus as their Savior, but if we don’t bring Jesus to them how can they ever walk through the process to make the right choice?
The Ever-Changing Ways We Receive Information
The way people get information today is so different from generations past. Our parents and grandparents received the majority of the information that defined who they were from in person encounters – sitting around the kitchen table, in church, and actually living and doing! Sure, they may have had television and radio, but the majority of their information was received from family and friends through voice and by watching how those closest to them lived their lives.
As for my generation (btw…I’m in my early 30′s), we still had the same ways of receiving info, but other avenues presented themselves that eventually became more prominent than observing and hearing from family – TV, radio, video games. Slowly, we were detaching ourselves from in-person influences more and more. We began learning more and more how to live and what to believe from sources other than our relatives and community. For many of us, some of our life defining moments came from media sources – for me it was music more than anything.
Now, our children receive almost all of their information via technology such as the Internet. We will not debate whether this is right or wrong in this post…the bottom line is that’s how it is! Even their music isn’t in the same format as ours. They don’t even have to leave the house to get what they want thanks to iPods, streaming video online and the Internet. While it brings some people closer together that normally wouldn’t be, in a lot of ways, this has only further detached our society from one another.
While many will agree this is saddening, I believe we need to look at it another way. Instead of sitting around wishing people would go back to the “old ways” or trying to force people to live in the “dark ages” and getting nowhere, we need to learn how to meet those we are to reach where they are right now. In the case of our youth especially, that means digital ballparks.
Yes, I’ll admit that I talk to my oldest son via Facebook and text messaging. Does it take the place of in person conversations and opportunities for learning? Absolutely not! The point is: I’ve accepted that’s where he spends a portion of his time and he will receive some things better from me in that format.
So, today I challenge you to
Be the Visiting Team & Knock More Outta the Park
I ask you…
Are you meeting your audience where they are or are you living with a “Field of Dreams” mentality? Have you built it and are just waiting for them to come to you? Or, are you actively searching for them and placing yourself in their ball field?
I guarantee you will hit more Home Runs for Jesus if you go to them!
