Go, Connect and Then Share

In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” No mistake, Jesus did not tell us to stay, sit or laydown, with His all-authority status he told us to “go”.

This passage tells us to go and make followers, to baptize and teach them about Jesus. Yet, how can we find people interested in following Jesus? To answer that question, we should first ask, “Does teaching people to follow Jesus mean we focus on telling people how wrong they are and how right we are?” Should our main message be, “You are wrong, and we are right?”

?Would you get an uneasy feeling in your stomach if a salesperson insisted that you would be morally wrong for not buying their product? For example, if you are shopping to replace your twenty-year-old car with a new one and the salesperson states that you should care more about the environment by driving one of their smaller, fuel-efficient cars. In other words, you are wrong, and they are right. How might that make you feel?

To understand how to “go,” we need to remember to compare and combine Bible verses to understand the whole story. Part of the story means we need to “go,” yet Matthew 22:34-40 adds an additional perspective to the story. This passage adds clarity to our “going.” It says, “Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’”

?Combining these passages reveals that as we “go,” we can help people if we go with the love of God. So, effective outreach flows from our hearts as we embrace the power of His love through a personal relationship with our Creator. Unfortunately, it’s possible to adjust the gospel to meet our expectations, which will neutralize the power of the gospel. Embracing the real gospel message in our lives will lead us to “go” because we will desire for others to experience the joy, peace, patience, kindness, and goodness of God that we have experienced. Instead of seeking to prove others wrong by focusing on information, we get to help them discover the depth and height of Jesus’ love. Then, they can experience the life-changing gifts of His love for themselves.

We have many ways we can “go” to our community. For some, it means buying them lunch so we can listen to their story; for others, it could mean raking the leaves in their yard or helping them paint their house, or for others, inviting them to a Reversing Diabetes class, Bible study, or prophecy seminar. How we “go” should be directed by our desire to love others as ourselves because we love God. As we love God, He will open opportunities for us to help others. To effectively “go,” we need to focus on ways to love others as ourselves, in other words, to connect with people and build relationships.?

A church can make effective plans to “go” as they understand the importance of loving God so we can love others. Then, a church can find many ways to connect with people and reveal God’s love. In that way, we don’t focus on designing plans to increase the number of members. We focus on loving God so we can love others and then find meaningful ways to share His love. This is why Jesus said, “If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:10-12).

As we focus on growing friendships with people, the Holy Spirit will open opportunities for us to share about our relationship with Jesus. Some people might be interested in learning more about the Bible after a few days or a week or two. With others, it might take years before they have an interest.

?As we have opportunities to share what we believe with people we get to know, it becomes easier to effectively share about our relationship with Jesus. In that way, we don’t have to get involved in debates or arguments because we focus on friendship instead of just information.

?Churches can build momentum by designing plans to connect with people and build relationships. So, if we offer people Bible studies, as we study with them, our first desire is to get to know them as friends. Then, after a friendship develops, we can share more about what we have discovered in the Bible. This also means that if people come to a health, marriage, or prophecy seminar, our first desire is always to find ways to get to know them.

?To go, connect, and then share means we embrace many different ways to go into the community to connect with people. As we connect with them, we can build relationships first, then we will have opportunities to share about our love for God and how He brings wonderful gifts into our lives. So, are you ready to go, connect, and then share?