It is too easy to forget that Jesus did not call us to build a big church or to create slick ministries. ministering to the world. The church had nurtured and formed several who were actively engaged in vocational ministry. Members were still being called to ministry. Although numbers were declining, along with the population of the community, the church was making a difference in the world. That is when God spoke to me about the ultimate measure of success in ministry and in His kingdom: faithfulness. This began a journey. I searched the Scripture, seeking to understand how the Early Church assessed participation in God’s mission. Early Christians understood themselves as successful when they lived out God’s calling in their lives. Success came from new believers finding faith in Jesus Christ, widows being cared for, and disciples maturing in their faith. Interestingly, I discovered that, in the book of Acts, numbers were only mentioned in relation to the activity of the Holy Spirit moving upon people who knew the power of the resurrected Christ and were baptized. The use of quantifiable numbers never referred to the number of people who attended worship services. Faithfulness was measured in terms of the mission that God had given to His Church—to be living witnesses and to make disciples. Faithfulness is Making Disciples It is too easy to forget that Jesus did not call us to build a big church or to create slick ministries. Jesus did not call us to be the popular church or the mostloved leaders. Jesus called us to make disciples. He called us to pour our lives into people. We are called to create sacred space where people find Christ and
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