Tag: missions

The Necessary Ingredients for Effective Gospel Ministry (Colossians 4:7-18)

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Colossians, Devotionals, Imago Dei ClassLeave a comment

Last words are meant to be lasting words, yet so often I am guilty of skimming over them in the Bible. I find this temptation in the conclusion of Paul’s letter to the Colossians as well. He lists several names and gives salutatory commands that may seem to amount to “Tell Barnabas I said hey.” Yet when we slow down and consider all that he’s saying in this passage, there’s a beautiful lesson to be learned. That lesson is the example of effective gospel ministry.

Paul’s ministry of the gospel was effective. It bore much fruit. You and I are more than likely believers today because of Paul’s ministry. Yet we know from the book of Acts and his epistles that he never ministered alone. There were several men and women that God called to minister alongside Paul, whether it was through joining him on mission trips, helping him escape assassination attempts, or working alongside him to plant and encourage churches.

In other words, Paul’s ministry wasn’t effective just because he was a great communicator or a strong leader. It was effective because of the things and people that made up his ministry of the gospel. We see these people and these things in full color in Colossians 4:7-18. I call them the necessary ingredients to effective gospel ministry. Here’s seven of them.

1. Gospel ministry requires the family of God laboring together (4:7-8).

    Paul begins this section, “Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servantin the Lord” (v. 7).[1] Notice that he refers to Tychicus by name and calls him first a beloved brother and then a fellow servant. The church of Jesus Christ is not primarily a team or a staff, but a family, and we labor together to fulfill the family mission of making disciples among the nations. We are not called to minister individually, but together! If the apostle Paul needed partners in the gospel, how much more do we?

    2. Gospel ministry requires intentional encouragement (4:8).

    Paul tells the Colossians his purpose in sending Tychicus to them: “that you may know how we are” and “that he may encourage your hearts” (v. 8). These are two separate purposes, but they are closely related. We recently had a missionary from South Asia come and give our church a report on the work there. By letting us know “how they are,” he greatly encouraged our hearts that God is still at work among the nations.

    However, I do think Paul is sending Tychicus to encourage the Colossians directly. The gift of encouragement is to the church what a rush of oxygen is to a struggling fire. That’s why Paul commands the Thessalonians to “encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thess 5:11). We know this intuitively. If you’ve spent any time trying to improve in some skill or area of life and someone takes note and encourages you in it, it strengthens you to continue what you’re doing. So it is with gospel ministry. We must intentionally encourage one another to keep laboring for Christ’s kingdom.

    3. Gospel ministry requires intercessory prayer (4:12-13).

    Paul names another man in v. 12, Epaphras, and describes him as “always struggling on your behalf in his prayers.” He goes on to say that Epaphras “has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis” (v. 13). Epaphras could have visited and worked in these churches, but within the context of v. 12, Paul likely has the work of prayer in view. Epaphras is a prayer warrior for these three churches. His work is regularly taking them and their needs before the throne of heaven.

    Effective gospel ministry in a church requires intentional prayer of every member. As Spurgeon once said, a prayerless church member is like a decaying tooth in the mouth that does not contribute to the work of the church. Each member should pray for the ministry and health of the church. It is necessary work, and it is good work, but it is work. In other words, it doesn’t just happen naturally. We must make time for it, and commit to it. Let us be members who, like Epaphras, work hard by praying for our churches and their ministry of the gospel.

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    An Encouraging Day as a Discipleship Pastor

    On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Ministry2 Comments

    In every profession, there are good days and bad days. Days that are more difficult and days that are easier. Too often, I’m afraid, we remember the bad days more than the good. We remember the slumps of the tough days more than the joys of the fruitful days. I’ve had many difficult days in ministry. But I’ve also had many exciting, fruitful days. Yesterday was one of those exciting days, and I want to revel in it for just a bit.

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    Are We Missional? 10 Diagnostic Questions

    On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Discipleship2 Comments

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    In the book Live Sent: You Are a Letter, Jason Dukes lays out 10 questions to help Christians discern whether or not they are operating with a missional mindset. I have tweaked them and explained them below. Challenging words!

    1. When you speak of church, what prepositions do you use?

    Do you focus on church as a place or event more than a people who are sent? We are all called to live missionally, and we as a church are to be sent out as “salt and light” to a decaying and dark world. Our church in Athens has a sign as you leave the parking lot that exhibits this mindset, reading, “You are now entering your mission field.”                                                                                             

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    Missions Exists Because Worship Doesn’t

    On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn MiscellaneousLeave a comment

    “Missions Exists Because Worship Doesn’t” -John Piper

    missions

    This semester, the Lord led my fiancée and I into a class called Perspectives that our church was hosting. The class is basically a college-type class set up to give believers a fresh “perspective” on the world christian movement, and to give a glimpse of what God is doing around the world. The first week we learned how God has been a missionary God from the very beginning, in his promise to Abraham to make him a blessing “to the nations.” But this week, we talked about the main point of missions-to bring worship to God and to bring him the glory and honor he deserves. One of the main quotes from the lesson was, “Missions exists because worship doesn’t” originally coined by John Piper. I just want to share a quick quote from our reading, and a conviction that I was confronted with.

    This is the quote from this week’s reading, “The Story of His Glory,”:

    “Humanity does not deserve the love of God any more than you or I do. We should never be Christian humanists, taking Jesus to poor sinful people, reducing Jesus to some kind of product that will better their lot. People deserve to be damned, but Jesus, the suffering lamb of God, deserves the reward of his suffering.”

    I was convicted because of this: most of my evangelism and missions-mindset was just to save people from hell, and to show them the full life Jesus wants for them. However, Its not all about what we are saving them FROM but what we are saving them FOR- the worship of a worthy Savior.
    We don’t just labor to save people from an eternity in hell, we labor to win our Savior the crowns he deserves for his life and sacrifice, and to bring Him the glory and worship that he deserves for all of eternity!

    Thus, our neglect of evangelism and participation in missions is not only unloving to the lost, but it is a refusal to bring God the glory, worship, and honor that he deserves. And our participation in missions and evangelism is not only loving to the lost, but is obedient to God’s plan for our lives: to bring Him worship from every tribe, tongue, and nation!

    We take part in missions because there are still tribes and people groups, friends and coworkers, family members and strangers, who do not worship our Father. We labor in part because of our yearning for them to avoid eternal punishment, but our main incentive should be drawn from our own love and adoration of the Father! We know how worthy he is of praise and worship, and we must devote ourselves to winning it for him from the people that do not know him.

    The Father sent his only son, Jesus, who, through his death and resurrection, bridged the gap between our sinfulness and God’s holiness, so that we would be reconciled to God (1 Peter 3:18) and worship him! He extends grace and love to us, that we would return love and worship to him. This is the desire of his heart is to receive worship from his creation. This is what was broken in the garden of Eden, the ability to worship the Lord in truth and have a relationship with him. But now, through Christ, we are more than able! Not only that, we are entrusted as his children to win him the worship and glory that his mighty name deserves!

    The question we must ask ourselves is this: What is my part in winning the blessed Savior this worship that he is so deserving of?

    May the Spirit guide you as you commit yourself to his eternal purpose!