This is a Year of Opportunities
2024 is a year of opportunities.
A mentor once told me that opportunities are everywhere, though more than anything else, it’s one’s relationships that determine his share of opportunities. This year, some will get the opportunity for love. For some, it will be new schools, jobs, projects, sports, promotions, or moves. Some will get the opportunity to be married. Some will be given the opportunity to become parents. Some will be invited into new friendships. Some will have the opportunity to ask for forgiveness, forgive, and reconcile. Some opportunities will be missed. Some short-lived; and others will be life changing. Most of these opportunities will present themselves through relationships.
The most significant opportunities will hold eternal rewards. Some will trust Jesus as Lord and Savior and be reconciled to God forever. Others will have the immense joy of influencing those decisions, knowing they have grasped the opportunity to make an eternal impact in the life of someone they love while contributing to the primary mission of the church.
It’s easy to simply list outreach or evangelism as one of several important callings of the church. But those who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior were not left here in the physical realm, in this life, for our own benefit. Had our own benefit been first and foremost, we would have each immediately gone to heaven when we trusted Jesus. We were left here to look for opportunities to share the message of reconciliation with those who have not yet trusted Jesus.
“…in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:19-20 (ESV)
When the Bible speaks of life and death, it is seldom talking about our physical lives, but rather what happens after we take our last breath on this earth. Unless Jesus returns soon, we will each die. According to Scripture, physical life is a mere sliver of our existence. Physical death is a transition to eternal life in the presence of Jesus and his bride or to eternal existence separated from God. While the church is a complex community of people with different perspectives, experiences, and opinions, Jesus is the head of the church, and his primary mission is one of spiritual reconciliation, that is offering eternal life to a world continuously distracted by short-sighted physical needs and desires.
We absolutely enjoy many secondary benefits to following Jesus and being a part of a church family in this life. Though any organization that grows comfortably numb toward its primary mission while pursuing the secondary will eventually lose its way.
If you study church growth in America over the last thirty years, it’s hard to miss that, while there are notable exceptions, the bulk of American church growth has been through nondenominational church plants. Why is that? Why have small, new, often under-resourced, independent churches outpaced large, well-established churches supported by the resources and experience of layers of denominational support? I’m no church growth expert, but I suspect that the older, more established and connected a church is, the more internal relationships are leveraged toward internal concerns, subtlety vying with the urgency and importance of the message of reconciliation. Perhaps it’s more common for people planting a church to do so primarily for the purpose of reaching unchurched people; and being a new venture, it’s somewhat easier to stay laser focused on their primary mission. That’s just an educated guess, though I’m sure some church planters would argue that there are even more distractions as a new church seeks to establish itself.
Often, it’s the work of earning the opportunity to share the message of reconciliation that replaces the sharing as the primary goal or achievement. We get so engaged in clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, providing beds or housing, and other physical needs, and we feel so good about our truly compassionate efforts, that we leave the opportunity to share the message of reconciliation on the table as we return to thank God for giving us the opportunity to meet those physical needs. Even when we recognize the short-term benefit of our efforts, and invest in longer term physical solutions like rehabs, job training, and schools, we’re often missing the opportunity to invite those we are serving into eternal life. In assuming that someone else will take that opportunity, we diminish the urgency, gamble with others’ lives, and miss the opportunity to engage in the most fulfilling opportunity within the Kingdom of God.
Yes, we could restructure ministry efforts, redefine our goal, and focus more on reaching lost people. But even that presents a challenge. In seeking to reach the world, the nations, or “people”, we immediately adopt a compromise. Nothing compromises one’s goals like generalizing. It’s like losing weight, getting in shape, exercising, or saving money. If you don’t set specific goals, how often do you make significant progress?
So, what’s the answer? How do believers see and embrace the opportunities to reach lost people in 2024? First, we pray. We ask God to help us discern specific people, among those we already know and love, who have not been reconciled to God through trusting Jesus. Then we write down each name and begin to specifically look for opportunities to be an ambassador for Christ with that person. We pray for discernment and ask God to show us our opportunities. We also ask God to give us wisdom and courage to steward the opportunities well. We persist in praying for these people until they trust Jesus. When the opportunities arise, we plant seeds. That may mean an unexpected act of kindness followed by a conversation. It may mean sharing your story. It may mean offering to pray with or for them. It may be invitations to church. It may mean inviting to a small group or Bible Study, or a full-on explanation of the Gospel. It may mean embracing and leveraging your relationships with other believers to influence a loved one. You will most likely have several of the above opportunities with each person on your list.
It's not by chance or coincidence that the fastest growing churches on the planet are in countries where Christianity is illegal. These believers are not relying on church programs, events, or church staff to reach people in their community. It’s not safe to share their faith with strangers, post about it on social media, or rely on billboards. Believers in these countries are quietly sharing their faith with people they know, love, and trust, and their churches are bursting forth with growth. Perhaps we could learn something from them.
Certainly, there will be opportunities to be an ambassador for Christ with people outside of your typical circle of influence. I hope you’ll keep a discerning eye for those opportunities which arrive with complete strangers or friends not on your original list. I hope you engage in organized ministry outreaches and missions in 2024. Though your greatest opportunities will be with friends, co-workers, and family members whom you already love. If you enjoy sharing this life with them, why not put the effort into sharing your church community with them, and more importantly, sharing eternity with them.
2024 is a year of opportunities. You will have opportunities to invest in the primary mission of Jesus Christ, reconciling people you love to God, and opportunities to know the joy of doing so. Look to your relationships for most of those opportunities. I look forward to hearing your stories.
John Crosby