We can’t but God can so we will.
How can we raise up more gospel workers for Perth and beyond? The answer is: We can’t but God can so we will. We don’t have the ability in ourselves to raise up a blade of grass let alone a generation of gospel workers. But where we are weak He is strong. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has the power and He will do it. The question is: will we be a part of it or not?
Here are two guiding principles and five tips for seeing God raise up the next generation of gospel workers in Perth and beyond.
1. Plead with God to raise up more gospel workers
“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38)
God raises up the next generation of ministry workers not us. He is the Lord of the harvest not us. And so, we pray. But we’re not just to pray, we must “pray earnestly to the Lord”. We must plead with our Father to raise up more workers. The harvest is plentiful not miniscule. And the labourers are few not many. Could it be that problem is us and not God? Could it be that our lack of earnest prayer is a serious barrier to raising up gospel workers?
2. Plan the process to pass it on
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2:1-2)
The way to see more gospel workers raised up is to purposefully entrust more faithful people with the gospel who can then teach others. Paul tells Timothy to entrust the gospel to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. This implies a process of identifying faithful people and a plan to make sure they are able to teach others too.
Get them early
Future gospel workers don’t grow on trees, they’re in our Sunday school classes and youth groups. Ask the person who oversees your kids or youth ministry a few questions – “who are the ones who get it?” or “Who are the young people who are growing in Jesus?” Those are the potential gospel workers. But don’t stop there. Start passing it on to them now.
Give them a go
It sounds obvious but it’s usually very difficult. Once we get a few grey hairs and a few years under our belt, for some strange reason we start thinking we know the best way to do Christian ministry– “and those young guys have a long way to go!”. The end result is that many leaders are afraid to hand over real responsibility to leaders younger than them. it then follows that those young leaders don’t grow. Despite the risk we must give them a legitimate go.
Allow them to fail
A church culture that doesn’t allow failure will massively stifle the growth of new leaders. On the other hand, if our churches see failure as a part of the growth process, if we invite younger leaders to take a risk and explore more effective ways of serving and proclaiming Jesus, then we’ll provide fertile ground for raising up the next generation. The consistent message from the leaders of our churches to the next generation ought to be: “permission to fail”.
Be clear with them
A wise man once said, “Leadership is clarity”. Make sure the ones God is raising up around you know what is expected of them. To do this, you also need to know what you want of them! Make it clear.
Let them change things up
Younger leaders will almost always do things differently to older leaders. Some things must stay the same but for everything that’s not gospel, let it go. The next generation want to serve Jesus and proclaim His amazing grace to their peers in their way. So, let them change it up a bit. You never know, they might even do it better that you!
The One Who Leads 