The Church Gets Ready for “One”

If we are going to pray for “one” person who needs Jesus, we need to be ready to respond to the “one” as events unfold. There are two ways to prepare.

First, we can prepare personally by writing out our testimony and reflecting on our relationship with Jesus. It might help to ask, “Why do I follow Jesus as my Lord and Savior?” and “How does my faith in Jesus help me in life?”  These are broad questions, but if we can articulate our answers, we will be better equipped to enter into a conversation with someone who needs Jesus.

Secondly, we can work with our church family to prepare a shared ministry that leads our “one” closer to Jesus. The church is the Body of Christ, and each of its parts are designed to reflect His love and grace on earth.

This means anything we do as a church, in Jesus’ name, has the potential of leading our “one” or someone else’s “one” to salvation. In fact, when we come together as a church family, we should be as concerned about someone else’s “one” they have been praying for as our “one.”  How can we create a place that is ready for anyone’s “one?”

We can watch out for anyone’s “one”. A few days ago I visited two hardware stores looking for a part to some min-blinds.  In one store, an employee saw me looking at a shelf and called out from the end of the aisle, “Can I help you find something?”  In the other store, I walked toward an employee to ask for help, and when he saw me, he turned and walked away, quickly.  Neither store had what I needed, but the first store showed me they were watching out for me.  A simple greeting or “Can I help you?” can go a long way with anyone’s “one.”

We can be faithful to everyone’s “one” by showing up when we volunteer to serve. When we agree to serve the Lord’s church and we don’t show up, the “ministry fairy” doesn’t come to take our place.  Sometimes emergencies prevent us from serving, but when we fail to serve because we decide we want to do something else at the last-minute, we hurt the mission of the church.  While leaders are trying to address real emergencies, our decision not to show up diminishes the effectiveness of the mission that day and increases the possibility someone’s “one” will be neglected.  When we do this, we also teach others in our family we are the only “ones” who matter.

We can ask God to keep us focused on eternity. I am not saying we should ignore our daily needs, or that we should sit around waiting for Jesus to come.  Actually, we will enjoy life more now when we view it in light of eternity.  When we focus on eternity, we live with purpose, and we are always mindful of the value of every human soul.  Everyone’s “one” matters to us because he or she matters to God.

If we look out for “one”, serve “one” and live for “one”, we are going to be ready for “one.” Pray for your “one” today.  Then get ready.  God has told us in His Word there are many “ones” and I know He will answer our prayers.

And who knows. Your thoughtfulness might be the very thing God uses to make you a part of leading someone’s “one” to the cross.