A New Approach

In Judges 7, we find that Gideon was facing a challenge to his army from the Midianites.  He had
assembled an army, but God offered a course correction. In verse 2, we can read:
2 And the Lord said to Gideon, "The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, 'My own hand has saved me.'

He started out with 32,000, but when God directed Gideon to allow those who were afraid to turn back, he was left with 10,000.  Those were brought to the water, and only those who cupped their hands would be chosen - that left 300, just the right size to win the victory.

God had some unique plans for Gideon and his army.  Even their method that led to victory was unorthodox, to say the least.  But, God wants to take our human wisdom and turn it on its head - he wants us to walk with a dependence on His Spirit; sometimes He may call us out of our comfort zone, but we can trust that if we are following Christ, He has superior plans and His desired outcome in store for us.

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We can be challenged to take a look at how we are doing ministry and see if God wants us to move in a different direction. In Hebrews 13, we find these verses:
20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Josh Boehr is a youth pastor in Ann Arbor, MI - a few years ago, his ministry budget was $100,000.  Now, it's $20,000.  Is that an ominous development?  Actually, no.  According to a story on the WORLD Magazine website, the pastor of his church came to him and asked, “What would you do if we took away your entire youth ministry budget?” Boehr said, “That would excite me because youth ministry wouldn’t be about programs. It would be about relationships and Christ.”

The church, Knox Presbyterian Church, apparently has one missions trip per year, and it's local.  WORLD reports:

Knox’s Ann Arbor mission trip keeps costs low by staying local while training students to pursue Christ in their own city. “We didn’t have a lot to show for it by the end of the week,” said Boehr. “We couldn’t come back to the congregation and say that we dug six wells or distributed shoes for 10,000 people.” Instead, these students grappled with their understanding of the gospel as they shared it with their neighbors. They visited a Sikh temple and a mosque. They rode on public transportation instead of church buses. They initiated conversations about Christ with people on the streets.

The 21 students and 6 staff members from the church stayed at the Christian fraternity house in Ann Arbor.  They went out to minister during the day and returned at night, where they had worship and Bible study, centered around the advancement of the Kingdom of God. The article says, "Boehr does not want his students to know a Jesus who therapeutically answers prayers and gives peace on a needed basis. Instead, he desires to see Jesus reigning as King in students’ lives."

The article included a touching story of two students who ministered to a homeless woman who had been beaten in a fight.  They brought her a literal glass of water and began to cry.  The article, describing the response of one of the students, said:

Anna had struggled all week with the fact that this mission trip had little to show for their efforts and nothing to make the students feel good about themselves. But now she understood that following Jesus that day meant pushing past discomfort with a hug and a glass of water.

There are still parents who complain about Boehr's approach, and attendance has declined - but, as the article challenges the reader, you can consider the fruit for the Kingdom.

I thought of Gideon's army - God had to whittle it down to the right size so that He could use it for His glory.  Numbers can be an indicator of God at work, but if there is not spiritual fruit being borne, then perhaps there need to be other indicators of effectiveness brought into the mix, as we see here with this church.

We can also be devoted to seeking out new ways of doing ministry - the way it's always been done may not be the way to do it in the future.  Our creative God can inspire new ideas that He will use for the glory of His name.  We don't need to get stuck in one type of methodology and miss what the Lord wants to do.

We can also consider the importance of rearranging priorities.  To use some cliches, if we're majoring on the minors or not keeping or making the main thing the main thing, then it is time to reevaluate and make a course correction.  The Spirit of God can show us how to operate according to the will of God.

Finally, the Kingdom advances through Kingdom interactions.  There are opportunities to build relationships and to demonstrate the love of Christ.  We can place a high priority on obeying God and showing that we love Him.