Leave it to Jesus to be forward-looking.  He knew there’d be many years to come when he couldn’t be there with his followers, showing them how to do things.  He taught them how to figure out how to take the next steps.  He shaped their characters and prepared them to learn to listen to the Holy Spirit who would come.  He encouraged them to engage in service and learn as they go.

How—in our ministries right now—can we do the same for our people?  How can we prepare them to serve and to lead when we are no longer there to guide them?  Read the scriptures below as you reflect.

  • Jesus challenged people to take the next step (Mark 5:19, John 8:11)
  • Jesus invested in a few, not in the masses (Luke 6:12-14, Mark 10:32, Mark 9:2)
  • Jesus invited people into an apprenticing process (Matt 4:18-20)
  • Jesus chose unlikely disciples (Matt 9:9, Matt 4:18-19)
  • Jesus engaged people in service (Luke 10:1-24)
  • Jesus shaped people’s character through life experience (Luke 9:51-56, Luke 22:54-62, Mark 9:14-29)
  • Jesus ministered with an eye toward multiplication (Matt 10:1-8, Luke 10:1-3)
  • Jesus intentionally embedded the essential DNA into his followers (John 15-17)
  • Jesus taught in a way that made people think for themselves (John 3:8-9, Mark 4:33-34, Prov 20:5)
  • Jesus told stories that helped people see from a new perspective (Luke 12:13-21, Luke 18:9-14, Luke 15:11-32)
  • Jesus had a plan for his ministry to go on without him (Matt 16:17-19, John 15:26-27)