Who has what it takes?
Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV)
Scott looked at me from across the table with tears welling up in his eyes and asked, “Do you really think I have what it takes to do this?” Fifteen months earlier, Scott had sensed a call to move to Asia to labor in one of the most unreached places on the planet. He had left a successful career and moved to Tulsa to be a part of our missionary training residency. Scott had spent that year deepening his relationship with Jesus, sharing the Gospel, making disciples, and training others to do the same. The Lord used Scott in so many ways during his time with us. We could (and still can) see waves of Kingdom fruit brought forth by the Spirit through Scott’s ministry in Tulsa.
Despite this fruit, I wasn’t surprised at all by Scott’s question. We had asked ourselves similar questions about 10 years earlier as the leadership of Ridge Christian was embarking on a comparable journey. Through countless hours of prayer, pouring over the Word of God, and strategic planning, the Lord was calling our church to step further into owning our role in the Great Commission. We had a long history of supporting missions and even sending some of our own into missions, but we now sensed the Lord leading us toward a God-sized vision that only He could accomplish.
We were moved by the peoples and places globally who had never heard the Gospel - over two billion people! We were also more and more aware of those in our city who would never step foot into a church but might be open to the Gospel. Over the course of several months, God placed two numbers in front of us - 1,000 new disciples in the Tulsa area and 50 people to be sent to South Asia from our church as long-term workers. As our missions leadership, elders, and staff searched the Scriptures for the Father's mission, we also rediscovered His desire to see His Church involved in this task in a hands-on way.
I can tell you we felt much like Scott did that day at the table. Were we really up for this task? Did we have what it would take to do this? We had never done anything like it before, and to be completely honest, we had no clue what we were doing. Even so, we just kept moving toward Jesus as He revealed to us more and more of His plan. We simply sought to obey the Spirit's call. As we began to walk this path, the Lord was faithful to walk with us and continues to do so to this day. In the beginning, Jesus's words from Matthew 28:18-20 were key for us. Even so, we didn’t pause to consider the ending promise: "I am with you always to the end of the age." As we look back over the past 10 years, Jesus fulfilling this promise to us is more than evident.
Here are some ways Jesus has been faithful to this promise over the past few years:
Thousands of prayers have been offered by Ridge Christian members for those far from God where they live, work, and play.
Friends, family members, neighbors, and others have heard the Gospel thousands of times from the mouths of Ridge Christian members.
Ridge Christian members have led friends, family members, neighbors, and others to Jesus, baptized them, and are teaching them to obey Him.
Ridge Christian members and others in our local disciple-making network have started simple churches in their homes to reach those who would never come to our Sunday morning services.
Other churches and ministries have been trained by Ridge Christian to do the same.
We praise God for His faithfulness to walk with us. We are amazed at what He has done and is doing! As we look back on the past few years, perhaps the most amazing thing the Lord has done is to help us not only send out our own missionaries but also train them to go. Originally, we had planned to farm out this training to outside organizations because we had no idea how to train missionaries. Despite our inexperience, faithful brothers who were training and coaching us in local disciple-making insisted the best path forward would be for us to train these workers for South Asia by starting our own bi-vocational missionary residency at Ridge Christian. This allowed us, the local church, to train our own missionaries. It would also allow these emerging leaders to pursue disciple-making strategies in their local contexts before launching overseas. Feelings of inadequacy flooded our minds. Was it even possible that we could raise up and train our own missionaries? Did we have what it would take for the task?
Despite our feelings, we again went down the path Jesus was leading, and He kept His promise once again. In two months, we went from having one candidate for South Asia to having a full residency of 12 adults. Additionally, the Lord provided a couple out of the church to lead the residency. For more than a year, this residency met weekly as a house church and sought to make disciples among the lost in local communities. We were in awe as we watched God work! God used that original residency to see hundreds of people hear the Gospel, to bring others into the Kingdom, to train other believers to make disciples, and to launch three families to the nations.
Since 2016, we have run a total of eight-year-long residencies. By God’s grace, Ridge Christian has sent out a total of six families to labor full-time among the nations as well as raised up local church planters.
Additionally, God has sent out others from our residencies who are not Ridge Christian members to live and labor in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and other places in North America. The Lord has also multiplied these residencies in several locations across the U.S. and even some international locations.
Our best guess is that God has fulfilled those numbers He gave us 10 years ago through the multiplication of His Kingdom. We are just beginning to see that our vision of what God wants to do is, in fact, too small. Even so, we move forward in humility but with confidence that He is the One doing the work and that His promises are true.
That day when Scott asked me if he was ready, I reminded him of all that we saw in him and how the Lord was using his life. I then told him it was good that he was sensing his inadequacy for the task ahead and how it reminds us of the One who has not left us. The One who is, in fact, doing the work.
Just a few weeks ago, Scott shared the following update from Asia:
On a recent trip through a large state, we visited a region where there are almost 350 villages, and half of them have no Gospel witness. This is, in many ways, the edge of Kingdom work in this state. We met one brother who, along with his family, are the only believers in their village. God impressed upon me what a privilege it was to be able to see such a new area reached with the Gospel. Please pray for boldness and courage for these new believers to proclaim the Gospel and make disciples.
This time, tears welled up in my eyes. Indeed, what a privilege it is to watch the Lord do the work! Scott is not adequate, nor is Ridge Christian, but we serve the One who is. The One who “has what it takes” is faithful to His promises. As we partner with Him to make disciples of the nations, He will be with us to the end of the age.
Editor’s Note: Do you have what it takes? As Bryan shared, none of us do. But if you’d like to explore God’s calling on your life, it’s time to Get Started!