One of the main reasons why I am blessed
I first walked into the church service of what is today known as Victory almost 27 years ago. There is no question in my mind that one of the reasons why I am blessed today is because of this church. I would be nowhere near what I am today if I had not become a part of this church.
That evening in 1986 Marie and I stumbled into a small gathering of about 40 people. There were no polished singers and musicians, no flashy preaching but there was something distinctive. As early as then there was a passionate desire to honor God with one's life and make disciples.
Today the same passion remains except now instead of 40 or so people there are over 60,000 people that have made Victory their home. Interestingly while the music and preaching have become more polished but the mission has not changed - "Honor God and Make Disciples."
Last Saturday I sat in Victory's Discipleship 2013 gathering at the Ultra Sports Arena in Manila. It's hard to imagine that this gathering of over 7,000 small group leaders was the same church we walked into 27 years ago. Here were the three big take aways I had from the event:
1. It's all about people. Throughout the three hour gathering I couldn't stop crying as I listened to story after story of lives that were transformed by God as people were reached and discipled. More than just programs, processes and principles, discipleship is all about people. Yes God is honored by our individual lives but what will truly honor God in the long term is when more people are transformed, as their lives are changed, He is more glorified . This happens when we make disciples.
2. It's all about empowering people. It was Harvard and Stanford chaplain Elton Trueblood who wrote: "There is no real chance of victory in a campaign if ninety percent of the soldiers are untrained and uninvolved, but that is exactly where we stand now. -- Perhaps the greatest single weakness of the contemporary Christian Church is that millions of supposed members are not really involved at all and, what is worse, do not think it strange that they are not."
The future of the Christian Church does not rest in a handful of professional career ministers but rests in the hands of ordinary people who have been empowered as disciples to reach out to their spheres of influence. Every single believer must be activated to go and make disciples. Young, old, male, female, rich, poor, everyone...yes, EVERYONE. This is the hope of the nations.
3. It's all about Jesus. Steve Murrell reemphasized the that its all about the Gospel. The Gospel isat the heart of discipleship. Before we can help others experience the love of Christ, we must first experience it for ourselves. We can only give away what we have received. The Bible declares "We love. because he first loved us" (1John 4:19). As we experience the love of God in Christ Jesus on a daily basis we freely offer it to others.
As I write this post I am Honolulu teaching pastors and leaders what it means to go and make disciples. The church I am working with here does not have 7,000 small group leaders but 700. It does not matter how big or small a church is. Whether it is in Manila or Honolulu, Tokyo or New York -- It's all about people. People who have been empowered to go and make disciples. So that they can be turned into followers of Jesus. Honor God and make disciples!
(Thank you Rolica Binondo and Jen Punzalan for the pictures above)
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