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The Cowboy Chronicle

News and Events surrounding Cross Trail Ministries and Outreach.

March 2024

Doubling Your Effective Witness for Christ in the world.

By: Christopher Dysinger

The pulpit committee at the last church I served as pastor expressed their concern about the decline of the church when they interviewed me for the position. Unfortunately, before we could do anything about the church's situation, none too few were offended by things that I preached and taught and taking issue with me my time there came to a close, but their concern for church growth led me to study the subject. I hope to express something of what the Holy Spirit impressed upon me in this article.

Many church growth books present a “how to” approach to drawing in crowds. There is a lot of information about taking demographic surveys, marketing approaches, and getting people thinking positively about the church. In other words, a lot of worldly thinking has made its way into ideas concerning church growth, but church growth is not about bringing together a crowd. Church growth is, in the words of Gary McIntosh, “a purposeful process for winning people to Christ, assimilating them into local churches, and equipping them for ministry.”

Church growth is not even a work of the church as the Lord Jesus proclaimed that He would build His church. “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it>.” Matthew 16:18 KJV.

Still, the Lord works through believers and this means that we all have a task to perform that helps facilitate the growth of the church. What is our part? It is to go and make disciples. “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20. KJV.

To make a disciple you must invest your life into theirs. To make a disciple is more than leading someone to Christ. It is following through by leading and teaching them through the godly example you set until they reach a place of spiritual maturity where the Holy Spirit is then able to use them to go and make disciples. This concept of making disciples who then make more disciples was presented to us in the life of the apostle Paul who defined his example in this way: “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1. KJV.

In making disciples we are found obedient to the Lord who told us to bear fruit. Making disciples is bearing fruit. It is leading people to become more Christlike by following our example as we follow Christ. It is good to instruct men and women in the word of God, but it is better to show them how to live the word through the life we live. People are looking for a demonstration of what it means to live for Jesus. A picture is worth a thousand words.

In addition to this, by making disciples and investing in the faith-life of others we are adding an effective witness to Christ in the world. If a believer wins just one person to Christ and then disciples this person to spiritual maturity, he or she is doubling his or her impact for Christ. By demonstrating faith to one person and investing in them you can double your impact for Christ, and if you continue to invest in two, or three, or more persons, remembering here that the Lord Jesus carefully invested Himself into twelve disciples, as you add disciples you are multiplying your impact for Christ to the third, fourth, or possibly the twelfth power.

What impact would Christians have on the world if every believer worked at making just one disciple? What do you think would happen in this world if the true church of the Lord Jesus doubled its impact? The answer is revival. The answer is renewal.

So let me encourage you, if you are honest in your faith and have a living relationship with the Lord Jesus, go and make a disciple. Lead one person to Christ to begin with and invest in them. Let them follow you as you follow Christ and double your impact for Christ in this world.

To close I want to leave you with the words of Robert Coleman. “We are engaged in warfare, the issues of which are life and death, and every day that we are indifferent to our responsibilities is a day lost to the cause of Christ.”

The End

Parting Shot

A little boy was feverishly drawing a picture in Sunday school. The teacher watching this asked him, “What are you drawing?” The little boy said, “I'm drawing a picture of God.” The teacher then says, “No one really knows what God looks like.” The boy quickly responded, “Well, they will when I get done.”