More than ever it is vital that Christians are Empowered to Serve. It was God's idea in the first place "go and make disciples...you will receive power from on high." We don't need to wait for the church doors to re-open to show love and connect with a neighbor. Home Depot's motto used to be 'You can do it, we can help'. That's being empowered. God's people need to be encouraged to serve--you can do it. We all have a unique assignment from God.
The second part puts some feet to that encouragement--Engaged in Outreach. The needs have probably never been as great as during the Pandemic. There are many frightened, lonely and hurting people out there. We as God's people can be the hands, feet and mouth of Jesus in fleshing out his love for the nations around us. When we are locked down it may be 'hi' from our driveway, a WhatsAp or Zoom conversation. We have tried to lead by example in doing this regularly, even in lock-down. We have prayed for our Muslim and believer friends virtually. There are limitations. On the other hand there are many opportunities to serve others this way. For example, a few weeks ago a brother from Muslim background needed a car. Travelling to work, medical appointments and shopping was getting increasingly more difficult as winter set in. After numerous consults about Carfax about specific cars, he was able to narrow down his search and purchased a car he is pleased with. At other times we've studied the Word(Bible) over Zoom or prayed for a friend.
As we age, we want to multiply our efforts--Equipping Others. There are many lessons we've learned along the way in 40 years of ministry to Muslims and believer friends. We love sharing these lessons with God's people. Luke writes "The harvest is great, but the workers are few..." Very few of our friends are drawn to Christian websites without a friendship with a follower of Jesus. While methods like 'Disciple Making Movement' are great--they start with a friendship and trust and ultimately deepen if there is spiritual hunger and thirst. Where does spiritual hunger and thirst come from? That's where intercessory prayer on the long haul comes in. While we can't spend a lot of time with our Muslim friends these days, we view them as our parish that we care for. This is called Pastoral Evangelism.
I suggest prayerfully consider who God would want you to give attention and care to. Once they are on your list, it's good to touch base with them regularly. Some days I have what I consider productive spiritual conversations, other days it's just keeping in touch. You never know what will help a friend start a journey to Jesus.
Dear Heavenly Father...please remind my brothers and sisters that they are already empowered to serve and are on assignment from you. Help them to discover this--discovering their 'mission' for life. Amen.
