What would be a way to perform tireless ministry…?

I would like to continue on the last week’s story about “When Fish Fly.”

What made the most impression on my mind is the concept of ‘Self-Propelling’, which the man claimed to have established in his store-an idea of self efficient organization. Because he shared his vision of the fish store clearly with his employees, objectives were not missed allowing the organization to generate tireless energy on its own and stay alert. This story shocked me because if a fish store in this world, by sharing its vision and goals can generate tireless self propelling energy, allowing people to work enthusiastically, how can our church that has clear and precious visions such as ‘saving souls and making disciples’ have burned out Shepherds?

I believe one of the reasons for such results is tangible reward. Worldly works have tangible rewards that tie directly with increased income, so it’s possible to self propel. We would have been able to do the same if souls were saved and people were changed instantly through our serving. However, that is not so. People do not change as much as we serve them and saving souls is not an easy task. People are used to patterns in this world and do not get affected by our serving, and also, there aren’t many VIP to serve since Houston has a limited amount of Korean immigrants. Therefore, after doing House Church meeting with the same few members for a year or two without having any new comers, Shepherds get burned out and lose alertness.
Then, what can propel the House Church without a VIP? Houston does not have many Koreans and VIPs are hard to find, so is there a way for House Church to self propel? How can this be achieved? These are the questions I have been concerned with lately.

First, instead of stopping at saving a soul, we should explore ways for Shepherds House church members to experience joy in growing together spiritually. As a layman pastor, a Shepherd should make the members successful in their spiritual life. So, we, as a Shepherd, should not stop at recruiting VIPs and helping them accept Christ, but also help them to be more like Christ in their lives and mature with us. The “Survival Kit Course” at our church is a good tool in that sense. After a member accepts Christ, if the Shepherd leads ‘Survival Kid Course’ for the new believer, it allows the member to grow spiritually by sharing visions and struggles in life’s battles together. In that sense, ‘Survival Kit Course’ should not be a knowledge transfer but more like field strategic operation. Shepherds should share what battles they’ve been struggling with and fighting for, and the member should pick his or her battle according to the stories heard. And by winning the battles one by one and sharing those success stories together, we would be able to experience joy in growing together.

I will further discuss and think about this matter next week.