Do we have a desire to see gospel growth in others?

I have to tell you about this book that I have been reading. It is called "The Trellis and The Vine, by Colin Marshall & Tony Payne" It really is "the ministry mind-shift that changes everything"!

It is giving me new ideas of what gospel ministry looks like. Our youth pastor, Sean Higgins, has given a few sermons from 2 Corinthians 4 over the past few months on ministry work and what that looks like. This book really goes hand in hand with those sermons.

The book goes to show Christians that we are all vine-growers. And that gospel growth is more important then numerical or structural growth. It shares in Chapter 2 that we should go

from running programs to building people, from running events to training people, from using people to growing people, from filling gaps to training new workers, from solving problems to helping people make progress, from clinging to ordained ministry to developing team leadership, from focusing on church polity to forging ministry partnerships, from relying on training institutions to establishing local training, from focusing on immediate pressures to aiming for long-term expansion, from engaging in management to engaging in ministry, from seeking church growth to desiring gospel growth.

The whole point of the book is that gospel growth in people is what matters most in church. This gospel growth takes place in peoples lives as Christians are prayerfully sharing the gospel and God's Word with each other, and not only in the church but in the work place, marketplace, home, neighborhood, etc. It goes through what training is and what that looks like and starting where the people around us are.

I just finished chapter 7, and can't recommend this book enough to all Christians. I am so thankful that SKH brought it to my attention. It has changed how I look at ministry differently. I also would recommend listening to the sermons as well. Because for me they seem to speak the same when it comes to ministry and just getting involved in the disciple making process for Jesus' sake. I am excited to go after those that God has placed in my life and see gospel growth in their lives.

What a privilege it is to take the gospel and not only live it out in my life, but use it to change hearts around me. God's power and glory are in the gospel. God will change hearts when His gospel and Word are shared with others through Christians living it out and speaking it. I agree with Sean that we have to have a balance in gospel living and gospel speaking. They both have to be included in our lives. People are more drawn to ask you about the hope that is in you when you live out the truth in your own life. One of the biggest problems I hear from non-believers is how they see so many Christians speak the truth, but their life is not lived out in the truth they are so quick to proclaim!

I say don't waste the gospel of Jesus Christ. Get it, live it, and give it! Find ways to get involved in the lives of those around you. I am sure you have plenty of opportunity to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. If your normally not into disciple making, I say now is the time to take some big risks for God and allow people to matter most to you. We should be concerned for the souls that God has brought into our paths. They are there for a reason and that is because God wants us to get involved with others. Many souls need to hear the gospel and see it lived out. May we live like we believe the truth in the gospel of Jesus Christ. So in 2010 don't go hide in your home, get out of your box and go hard in Christ. Because as Hudson Taylor put it, "Unless there is an element of risk in our exploits for God, there is no need for faith." Now is the time to live on unseen things. Gospel growth is unseen, and how awesome it is to be able to be apart of something bigger then we could ever imagine!