When people think of church, they think of buildings and sermons, choirs and sacraments. There are programs and activities, and they all have their place. But there’s something happening beneath the surface that many people miss. The church has a secret weapon, a hidden strategy, that is the real power of the church. It’s spelled out in a leadership plan given in the apostle Paul’s letter to a pastor named Timothy. Consider where you fit in the plan.

First, let’s look at what he said.

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

Three principles make up the church’s hidden strategy to change the world.

1. Be strengthened by grace

The church doesn’t transform people by rules. The Bible contains lots of commands, but these are mostly given to clarify, sharpen, and reinforce what our conscience has usually already told us. It’s the grace that is found in Jesus that changes people. In a relationship with Jesus, there is forgiveness when we fall, the strength of a spiritual family, power from God’s Spirit to obey, hope that fuels our perseverance, and the love of God that satisfies our thirsty hearts. The church is a community where we support each other’s growth in grace, but some people never look for it.

2. Be a Timothy to a Paul

Paul wrote to Timothy because Timothy listened. When he talks of “what you heard from me in the presence of many witnesses,” he seems to be referring to something more than a sermon. While the weekly teaching ministry of a church supplies a regular diet of spiritual food, people need something more than that to set the foundation of their spiritual lives. In the same way that you don’t become an accountant by popping in on random accounting classes, you don’t become a healthy Christian by just listening to sermons. At some point, you need to set aside time to master the basics of Jesus’ teachings. We, like many churches, have short courses to disciple people in the Christian life as well as marriage and parenting, but it takes a Timothy to make the time to listen.

3. Be a Paul to a Timothy

The apostle Paul wasn’t out to corner the market on disciples. He didn’t tell Timothy to send everyone they met to him to be taught. Paul saw the grace of God as something that had to be shared from one person to another to another. In fact, Paul pictures four generations of disciples in this passage: from Paul to Timothy, from Timothy to faithful men, and from those faithful men to others whom they would in turn teach. Although Paul doesn’t anticipate that everyone would be “able to teach others also,” he does picture many involved in the process. But it takes courage to be a Paul to a Timothy.

Where are you in the plan?

If this is the church’s hidden strategy and secret weapon, where are you in the plan?

• Are you being strengthened by grace?

• Are you leaning into all of the resources that God has given for our growth, or are you just running on the fumes of rules and self-discipline?

• Have you taken the time to get the foundation of your Christian life secure by being a Timothy to a Paul in a course of discipleship, or are you hoping that all of the pieces will just randomly fall into place?

• Have you passed the baton of discipleship on to another, or are you hoping that the person who mentored you will mentor all the others who need it also?

Be a part of the church’s hidden strategy to change the world – because the world needs changing!

In awe of Him,

Paul