Three Lessons From The Road (part 2)

After 11 years serving in full-time ministry, my family and I have been traveling the country for the last 9 months. During this time, we have been to roughly 90 different churches in 13 different states. While visiting these churches, we have experienced a wide variety of pastors, congregations, sermons, worship services, and many other things. In this article, I will talk about three more things that God has shown me while traveling to these different churches.

If you missed part 1, I encourage you to check it out before you continue reading this article. Read Part 1 Here.

4) Soul-Winning Still Works

While pastoring in Texas, I had several pastors tell me, "Soul-winning just doesn't work anymore. We stopped doing that several years ago because we felt like we were wasting our time." Every time that I heard that, I always that the same thing... "Well, not going soul-winning definitely doesn't work." Because our church was faithful in our soul-winning efforts, God blessed our church time and time again. Our church's attendance grew rapidly and eventually our auditorium was beyond full. Not because I'm a good preacher. Not because we had an impressive property (1/4 acre lot). Not because there wasn't other options in town. God blessed our church because we had a burden to give the gospel to people around us.

"If your church tells people about Jesus, God will tell people about your church."

When we started traveling the country, I was curious if soul-winning worked in other states as well. I'm excited to report... "Soul-winning still works!" God's allowed us to see souls saved in church services, on front porches, and while passing out free Bibles. The churches that are excited, alive, and growing all have faithful soul-winning programs. They've heard all of the same lies about it no longer working, but they've ignored them and keep spreading the gospel anyways. Some people and churches have stopped personal soul-winning in exchange for lifestyle evangelism. This is a tempting strategy because it's much easier and allows people to remain in their comfort zone... but God doesn't bless it. Keep knocking on doors, keep passing out tracts, and keep telling people about Jesus!

5) God's Not Done With America

When you compare our current condition to our past, it's easy to discouraged. Just 250 years ago, we were founded on Christian principles. Now, Christianity is on the decline, God is openly mocked in the media, and churches have a surplus of empty seats. In our dark situation, it can be difficult to see any hope... but as we travel the country, we see plenty of hope!

• Churches Have Life - Time and time again, we will show up about an hour early to a church service. We will set up our display table and talk with people in the autditorium. Over the next 45 minutes, the parking lot will begin to fill with cars, people will walk through the front doors, and the sound of godly fellowship fills the property. Churches are still exciting and full of God's people!

• Preachers Are Being Called - We've personally met 100+ young men who have surrendered to serving in the ministry. If God was done with America, he wouldn't still be calling men to preach his word. There is still a great hope in the next generation. These men are being called, they are answering the call, and they are being trained by their pastors. We need to pray for them and fan their flame!

• The Holy Spirit Is Working - The hope for our country is not in politics, social reform, and any other ideology. We need God to work in the hearts and lives of people. Souls are being saved and lives are being changed. The Holy Spirit is still convicting hearts, guiding believers, and drawing people away from sin.

The future is potentially bright for our country, but it will require God's people to get serious about the things of God. When the Holy Spirit calls... we need to answer. When our church has a service... we need to be there. When God is convicting our hearts... we need to respond to the preaching of His word.

6) The Top Step Never Seems Possible

We enjoyed talking with people before and after the services. It's been a blessing to get to know people from all different backgrounds and cultures. We tend to spend most of our time talking about our testimonies, ministry experience, and the Netherlands. Somewhere along the way, someone typically says something along the lines of "I can't believe that y'all are going over there. I would never be able to do something like that." While I certainly understand their perspective (I used to be the same way), I respectfully disagree.

Too often, when we consider God's will and the faith required to obey it, we look too far into the future. Someone who got saved two years ago will ponder God's will and think, "I could never be a pastor." So, they end up never end up truly considering his will. In reality, God's probably not calling them to be a pastor... at least not yet.

I like to think of God's will as a staircase. When you're at the bottom of the stairs, the top seems unobtainable. No one is able to go all the way to the top in one step. It's impossible. We need to realize that God isn't calling us to to the top step right now. He's only calling us to the next step. When you're on the 3rd step, the 8th step feels so far way... but one day, you will find yourself on the 7th step and realize that the 8th step is now just the next step.

Just eight years ago, the idea of being a pastor seemed impossible. Eventually, God built my faith to the point where pastoring was just the next step. God had taken care of me every step of the way before that, so I was willing to trust him with that step. Just two years ago, I wasn't willing to be a missionary. That seems like an impossiblity to me, but once again, God built my faith until it was just the next step. As God builds my faith, no step feels any more impressive than the last. They're all "just the next step."

Most Christians never realize how far God can take them because they never trust God with the first few steps. They look at the top of the staircase and think to themselves, "I can't do that. There's no way." But everyone can take the next step!

Final Thoughts

I hope these articles have been an encouragement to you. There are amazing things taking place in churches all around the country. Most people won't ever have the opportunity to see them because they are faithfully attending and serving in their local church. I just wanted to let you know what God has allowed us to see over these last nine months. We're excited to see what the next nine months has in store!