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Sometimes, our attempts to share our faith are little more than spamming the gospel. We go with the cheapest, most impersonal way to get the good news out. But gospel spam isn’t much more effective than the other spam that we receive. It’s quickly identified and sent to the trash. How can you be more than a gospel spammer?
Mark Russell shared about the results of two teams of missionaries in Thailand. He labelled the groups “converters” and “blessers” to describe their different approaches to ministry. The converters had the sole goal of converting people to Christianity and so they shared the gospel with anyone they could. The blessers looked for ways to bless the community, to care for people’s needs, and to share the gospel as they had opportunity.
The results of the teams were analyzed and compared. Not surprisingly, the blessers made a greater social impact than the converters. The positive benefits in the community were obvious. The more surprising finding, however, was that the blessers had almost fifty times as many conversions as the converters. Looking for ways to love and serve people, while also passionately sharing the gospel, turned out to have a much greater eternal impact than words alone.
Dave Ferguson sees in the promise to Abraham a hint as to blessers’ effectiveness. In Genesis 12:2, God promised to bless Abraham and through him bring blessing to the nations. He said, And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. He calls Christians to build mission into their lifestyle with five simple practices summarized by the acronym B.L.E.S.S.
B – Being with prayer
Pray for the non-Christians around you, but also begin your day praying that God would use you to bless someone.
L – Listen
Be a person who listens and truly engages with the struggles, pains and challenges of the people with whom you live and work. If you listen well, the person will give you clues to how the gospel might intersect with their needs.
E – Eat
Jesus spent so much time eating with people He was called a ‘glutton’ by His critics, but He had a purpose. It’s over food, or even a coffee, that we communicate friendship, acceptance and interest.
S – Serve
As we build relationships by sharing meals and listening to others, we begin to see areas of need. By responding with practical acts of service, we can express the love that Jesus calls us to.
S – Story
When we bless people, we look for and expect God to provide opportunities to share the good news about Jesus and the story of His work in our lives.
Who are some of the people that you could B.L.E.S.S.? Ask God for blessing as you seek to be a blessing and share your faith with neighbours, friends and coworkers.
In awe of Him,
Paul