The Real Focus

Church Planting Series, Part five

Shootings have dominated the headlines this week. Those headlines include the shooting of a pastor. What’s going on? Why the violence?

Read Romans 3:10-18 for the answer. From the Psalms and Isaiah, Paul boldly exposes our sinful nature: “There is no one righteous, not even one…Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways.”

This underscores the focus, the real focus of our work on earth. We’re not here to pack out worship services, to fund ministry programs, or to establish an excellent organization. We’re here because people are crumbling, dying, and self-destructing in a sin-broken mire that leads to eternal death. We’re here because Jesus Christ broke the bonds of that mire. By grace, people can be reclaimed from destruction.

At the beginning of every church plant and ministry start-up, the focus is not on the program. It’s on the people. In fact, it’s on one person at a time. Your goal is not to have a worship service. It’s not to crank up a ministry. It’s to bring the miracle of Jesus to a person.

I think this is why most of us get into this business, isn’t it? You’ve experienced the unparalleled new life Christ gives and you want to share it.

So you meet people. You follow the leads that come your way. You take the opportunities God gives. You develop relationships. You mentor people. You become friends. You live and speak the living Word. Then what happens?

It’s a church planting principle: People will follow your pattern.

Suddenly, you’ll be shoulder to shoulder with a growing army of people reaching the people in their lives. Suddenly, many voices will join yours in articulating the life-reconstructing work of Jesus.

A result of this focus on people will usually be worship services and ministries. But those are simply the result of the living Word inside people. Those will serve as resources to contribute to the ongoing outreach. Those will serve as growth and encouragement in the relationship-forming, people-caring process. Those will expand the beauty of being in community with each other and with Jesus.

But they are results of the focus, not the focus itself.

Whether you’re reaching the first person in your church planting or ministry efforts or you’re forming a relationship with the thousandth person you’ve met, your focus is on people. One person at a time.

Why? Because evidence shows that people are falling apart and that Christ is the Rebuilder we need so desperately. Just take a look at the headlines.