As you can see, we have one strong, clear vision and desire to empower everyone to take their next step towards Jesus. We want to be a church that takes the Great Commission seriously. We want to be an active church in fulfilling our vision, and we have decided to do something about it. And no matter where you are in the process of being a disciple, we believe you have what it takes to Make 1 More disciple in Christ.
We’re doing something at 6th and Gibbs called Make 1 More. So make one more what? Make one more disciple. We all have those people in our lives that we love and care about, but for whatever reason, they haven’t made that decision to follow Christ.
So what we are doing is simple. We are committing for this next year to Make 1 More disciple. How does it work? For the next year, we will commit to doing a few things for this one person.
First, we commit to pray.
We don’t have the power to change hearts. Only God can do that, and He is on our side. The Bible never said we are to go into battle to win people for Christ on our own. So we take the time to pray for the one person we choose. It’s something as simple as a minute per day. Pray for them. Pray for their day, their job, their family, their faith. Pray for the problems you know of and the ones you don’t. Pray that they will get to know Jesus. And pray for us to love them as God does, and pray for opportunities to serve them.
Second, we serve them.
When they’re struggling, we send them an encouraging note. If they have a need, we fulfill it. If they’re moving, we volunteer to help. If they’re hungry, we invite them over for a meal. We find meaningful ways to serve them and develop a strong, lasting friendship.
Third, we share our faith with them
As we serve them, opportunities to share our faith will come up. We let them know we will pray for them, and do it on the spot. They also may as why we are the way we are. They begin to see the difference and want to know more, and then we have our opening. We talk to them about our faith and invite them to church.
Fourth, we let each other know how it’s going and celebrate the victories.
We added a moment towards the end of each service of silent prayer to pray for our one person. As a part of our Life Groups we use our prayer request time to share what’s happening as well. We share our struggles and how we can pray for us and our ones, and cheer when there’s a breakthrough.
So I know a few people are reading this and thinking, “But I have more than just one person, I’ll do everyone at once.” And I’m going to tell you respectfully to hold up. Pray for those you know who are lost, but only commit to one person at this time. To pray for, serve, and love someone the way we are asking you to is a substantial undertaking in and of itself and could be a significant time commitment. It’s not something you can multitask. Choose one, focus on just Making 1 More, and when you gain a victory through Christ, it will be time for the next one.
There are others who are thinking, “Everyone I know is a Christian.” or, ”No one comes to mind.” I would encourage you to ask God to bring that one person along. Even if it takes a few weeks or months, pray for someone to come along as strongly as you would pray for that one person if you had them.
By doing this, I know and believe we are doing some remarkable things for Christ. Our church is fulfilling our mission and growing the body of Christ. Not only are we empowering everyone to take their next step towards Jesus, we are winning new believers to Christ who are being sent to go and do the same.
And if this comes to fruition: Imagine a church that is constantly growing and sending more and more people to go and do likewise. Imagine how many people would be impacted and saved by the grace of Jesus Christ. Imagine how the community around us would change because they are chasing after Jesus like Jesus desired for us to chase after the lost and broken.