“Discipleship Uncomplicated”, The 8 Principles of Disciple Making by Dr. Warren Haynes
Principle 7 – Gather People – Gather People to Influence People (part 12)
God often works through what we call “inconveniences” to position us to accomplish HIS work. For instance, I was preparing for a speaking engagement on a Sunday afternoon when a lady just plopped down in front of me. It was surprising because I didn’t know her. I said hello, and she said, “I noticed your Bible and I wanted to know if you go to church.” I said I did, and I let her know I would be going to church that evening. I told her where the church was and the times of the services.
She told me she lived in a hotel down the street and asked if I would pick her up and give her a ride to church. She gave me her name, phone number, and room number.
By this time, I was way out of my comfort zone. Red caution flags were out and waving with full force. My initial thoughts about this request were: I am really busy. How am I going to deal with this interruption? There is no way on earth I am going to pick this woman up at a hotel. But I told her I would do my best to get her to church.
”I’ll be waiting outside at 5:45 p.m.,” she said.
After she left, I called my wife and told her what had just happened. She was scheduled to be at another church with our children, but said she would go if I couldn’t find anyone to help. I called a wonderful young woman from the church where I was going to speak. I told her the situation and asked if she could pick up Debbie from the hotel. She graciously agreed after a hardy chuckle.
When the church service began, I looked over the audience and, sure enough, there was Debbie in front of me. After that encounter it dawned on me that this woman lived along with a number of others. She was a person of peace who could open the door to sharing God’s stories with a community of people that would very likely NEVER come to an existing church.
Every person can be a pathway to gathering a group. They know people we don’t know. We need to be aware of the potential in every person we meet. Every person on your Reach List is a potential group that could be gathered for the purpose of following Jesus.
