Ridgell's Originals

How do they do it? People are coming to Jesus all over Africa. I am just back from spending time in Malawi and Tanzania. Met with brothers from Zambia. Heard reports from work we have done in Mozambique. The gospel is spreading and the church is growing.

I think a lot about missionaries when I come back from there. The church here has lots of financial resources and there is a real need to share the Jesus story. So here is what I think. We need to use our resources to bring some missionaries from Africa to the United States. They can show us how they are reaching people. I wnat to know because they are missing several ingredients that we use here in the States.

They don't have nice buildings. They can't afford them. They meet in homes. Or their church building is a tent. Or it has dirt floors. Or they meet outside.

They don't put much of their budgets into missions and evangelism. They don't have budgets. They give to help those who need food and shelter. No budgets. Have to depend on God.

They don't have large ministerial staffs. Oops. That's not right. I should have said they do not have large paid ministerial staffs. They expect their members to do the youth ministry, lead worship, organize the Bible school classes, and often to do the preaching. If they support a preacher, he is an evangelist and he is often out planting churches in other places.

They just tell their friends and families about Jesus. Just like we do here. And maybe in our culture we need buildings and budgets and large paid staff. And maybe those things can be a means to an end.

But maybe we let those things become the end itself. Those things become the measurement of how we are growing. Bigger, larger, more.

So we have these things to attract people to our congregation. And the Lord's army will have a large troop transfer to our bigger, better, most. Or if we are losing the troops, it's because someone else has out programmed us. They out biggered and out mored us.

Let's use the tools we may have. But please God help us to focus on lost friends, family, and neighbors. We don't have to have any of the things we seem to put so much attention on. Please forgive us.

Churches anywhere grow when they talk about Jesus. When they live out the Jesus story in their lives. Here, there, and everywhere.

So let's get back to basics. You, me, and Jesus. The rest really doesn't matter.