Essentials Part 5: Outreach is Indispensable

Essentials for ministry growth that we've talked about so far:

• Healthy at the Core
• Reduce Complexity to the Point of Quality (two posts)
• Prayed Up

These are observations from my travels.

This week's essential: Outreach is Indispensable.

Occasionally I hear: Our job right now is to work on discipleship. We need to build up the saints to get them ready for outreach . . . 

Quite honestly, I've never seen that strategy work. I'm sure it has worked in various places, just none from my experience.

Rather, the pattern I see so frequently on the field is that growing ministries are doing evangelism now. They're not waiting until they're ready.  

They're not waiting to elevate their people to X level of maturity before turning outward.

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A few months ago I visited the University of Texas Pan American (where Houston is considered to be "up north"). 

We did evangelism every day I was there -- not just because I was there . . . they were already doing it. I just rode the wave they'd created.

I remember Jason. The very first hour I was on campus he walked in and told me his life story and came to faith in Christ right on the spot. Before my first presentation of the week.

Jason was the 50th conversion of the year for the UTPA ministry. 

How do you explain that? I say: vigilant prayer and persistent outreach.

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Next week I'll suggest a general strategy of evangelism that I believe will be helpful to the ministry where you serve.