Sure, as a church you might not be able to keep up with the latest and greatest high tech equipment. You might not have the time or personnel to develop major productions. You might not be able to afford presentation projectors for each classroom. Your pastoral staff might not be qualified as executives of Fortune 500 companies. Don’t panic. We don’t need to compete with the world!
Don’t get me wrong, we should strive for excellence in ministry because we want to give of our best to the Lord and we want to do what we can to reach people. In God’s economy both the process and end result matter. Yet, our motivation for providing quality ministry should not be in order to compete with the world. We don’t need to compete with the world!
Why Competing with the World Isn’t Necessary in the Church
In case the point of this post hasn’t sunk in, let me repeat it. We don’t need to compete with the world! Why? — Because we have Jesus!
… in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. (Col. 1:14-18)
All of Scripture points us to Jesus. He is all-sufficient. He is enough. He is the answer. We don’t have to compete with the world!
I came across this video that should help drive home the reality that what we have to offer people is far more than they can get anywhere else. It will be worth four minutes of your time — even if you’ve seen it before. (If the video doesn’t open in your browser, you can watch it on GodTube.)
This video brought tears to my eyes. It touched my heart completely. I feel blessed to hear this from such a young person. I have worked with and taught young people most of my life. I am presently the Chair of Education in the Hanover United Methodist Church, in Indiana. I would certainly like to share this with ALL youth Sunday School teachers, as well as, Youth leaders in the church. This is what is meant by sharing the Love of God to everyone around you. Thank you very much for this wonderful example and thank God, for such a young disciple as this. Very Sincerely, Gary DuVall
I pray the youth teachers and leaders you share it with are blessed as well.
I was so moved by the video. That young man is very gifted by God. Thank you for bringing it to my attention!
You are welcome. When I first saw it, I knew I had to pass it on because of the message about the all-sufficiency of Jesus to our lives but also because God used a young person to deliver the message in a powerful way. Age is no barrier for God!