This week I was reading through Acts 20 and something became increasingly evident. Paul is talking in Acts 20:20-24 about leaving Ephesus to go plant a new church, do something new and start over. He discusses the tough road ahead, and he even talks about God calling him. He goes through the verbiage many church planters often rehearse and reuse throughout their journey.
But, Paul says something that EVERY church planter needs to hear. He says something that EVERY church planter needs to believe. He says something that is crucial in the life of EVERY church planter if they want to succeed. He says something that, too often, church planters are missing in their vocabulary….
Paul says in Acts 20:24, “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God”
Paul acknowledges 3 things:
- His life is not the center and not the focus
- His ministry was not his own, but something created and given to him by God
- It’s 100% about the Gospel, making much of Jesus!
If church planters could more plainly understand this, live this and believe this….They would find success. No matter the trials, the hardship, the stress, the anxiety, the long days, the transitions, the battles fought, the money raised, the money spent, the money absent, the building built, the trailers loaded and unloaded, the coffee made, the band rehearsals, the sermons prepared, the meetings endured, the heart aches of life, the development of staff, the balancing of volunteers, the momentum, the speed and the exhaustion…..
If it’s not about us. If it’s not our own appointment. If it’s all about the Gospel, then we can do it. If it’s about the Gospel then we can endure it. If it’s all about Jesus we can succeed.
