I sat down to write this blog when my wife reminded me that I had a business networking meeting to go to. When I told her what the blog was about, she said how fitting it was given where I was going and what I was going to do. My way into this meeting came because I am a business owner here in Medina, but when given the opportunity to speak to everyone during the meeting itself, I always mention that my job and passion is in Pastoral Ministry.
What I’d love to do is take some of your time and explore what it looks like to leverage the Gospel in the mundane parts of life. Too often we only consider missions or being missional to be associate with the overseas mission’s trips and church specific outreach. We, as a church family, have been discussing this for quite some time, so I thought it’d be appropriate to continue some of that conversation here.
In 2023, my wife and I started a coffee shop here in town. When we started that location we thought it’d be a great opportunity to make some extra money, meet and serve people in our town, and for it to be an example to our brothers and sisters in Christ to begin leveraging the Gospel everywhere we go. Since opening the shop, we’ve met followers of Jesus, people who don’t know Jesus, and people who want nothing to do with Jesus.
Now what can come from making and serving someone coffee? Well, nothing if I simply view it as that. But if the Gospel is central to my being, then I will, and have, engaged with people who are coming into the shop so that I can love and serve them. We’ve had people visit the church that we met at The Grind, people have asked deep questions about faith, and so on.
Matthew 9:35-38 speaks of a harvest ready to be taken up, but there’s no one to go to it. Jesus makes a point that we are the laborers of the field and we ought to go and tend to the field. Now the question is, what or where is the field?
Well, the field is before your eyes. Where has Jesus placed you? Where do you work?
We have become so disengaged with the people in our lives that we don’t even know where many of them stand with the Lord. And maybe you’re thinking, “I’m engaged with them! I was practically there when they had their child.”, but are you being intentional with the gospel in their life? If you answered yes, then great work! The reality, however, is that many of us are at a stand-still. Not because we don’t want to reach the lost, but because the American church has become stagnant, relying on the ministry of the church and not the missionaries going forth from the church.
Ephesians 4 describes the role of the pastor as one who gets followers of Jesus ready to go ministry work. Let this be a reminder or, for some of you, the starting point to begin thinking through what it looks like to be intentional with the Gospel.
As I prepared to head to the networking meeting full of other business owners, I was so thankful that my wife reminded me of the unique opportunity we have to share the love of Jesus with that group of people. Again, I could’ve gone and shared about my business and moved on, but I believe we are called to be good stewards of all that God has given us.
For the moms, what does it look like to leverage the Gospel during a park date with another mom? To ask how she’s doing? How’s her marriage? How you might be able to pray for her and her family? To serve them? These are people in our life, and no, we may not see them every day, but we will likely see them again. These are not one-off moments, these are everyday moments.
For the dads, what does it look like to leverage the Gospel during a “guy’s night”? To ask other men in your life if they know the Lord? Ask them how their marriage is doing and how parenting has been. If we want to see the Gospel advance, we must be intentional to check in with others and encourage them toward the Lord.
For young adults, what does leveraging the Gospel look like in your life? What if life didn’t simply revolve around “being young and foolish” and shifted toward “faithful and obedient”?
The mission isn’t hard to be a part of, but it does require intentionality. Inviting people into our lives and sharing the love of the Lord with them every opportunity we have. This is not an exhaustive blog, but one to keep us thinking. Let me know if you have questions about a specific relationship or situation where you may be thinking through how to engage someone with the Gospel and we’d be happy to brainstorm with you.