Investing in the Faithful

Does your campus outreach, youth group, church reward the faithful? We've all heard the saying, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you live by that saying than you are going to end up with a lot of squeaky wheels. You build what you focus on.

The problem with a one-size-fits-all approach to ministry is that it always descends to the lowest common denominator. If you want to build strong disciples, if you want your youth to maintain their faith into adulthood, you need to offer additional opportunities for the faithful.

This was central to Jesus' personal ministry. He preached to the multitudes, he pastored many, but he poured himself into the faithful. This group included the apostles, but it didn't end there. He also gave extra time to Mary and Martha, his mother, and several other faithful women. We hear of one group of seventy-two that Jesus trained in outreach (Luke 10:72). Individuals from these groups traveled with him, shared meals and campfires, and were offered additional training and opportunities.

I care for the fringe and the lost. I want to see people transformed for the first time, but those who have been reached must be rooted in their faith and equipped to minister. Anything less is failure.

Failure? That seems like a strong statement, but look at Jesus' command. He didn't command us to make converts. That's not enough. He called us to make disciples. Outreach is not complete until the convert is ministering at your side. Effective ministry is not measured by the public activity of a leader. It's measured by the fruit of those he or she disciples (Mat 28:18-20).

You set the bar low, and you will not be disappointed. On the other hand, if you set the bar higher, reward faithfulness by giving the faithful more attention, you are likely to be pleasantly surprised and more people will be reached because you will have created a partner and a coworker.

Students that come out of this kind of background will become influencers rather than the influenced, and they will survive into an adult faith. Jesus pastored the many, but he poured himself into the faithful. We should do nothing less.