Focus 2020 – The Great Commission: Perspectives from LeadersSample

Introducing People to Jesus 

Bible passage:  

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”  

“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter). (John 1:35–42) 

Devotional: 

Twenty-six years ago, my family and I moved from a small university town in the Midwest to the San Francisco Bay Area in California. I was called to pastor a church with a huge heart for the world. In the early days, we launched a ministry into a neighborhood near our facility filled with first-generation Hispanic and Southeast Asian immigrant families. At the same time, we partnered with ReachGlobal, the international mission of the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), to begin an outreach among an unreached people group in coastal East Africa. Those were exciting days for the church!  

We quickly realized that some of the issues we faced in East Africa, as we sought to accomplish Great Commission disciple-making among an unreached people, were the same issues being experienced in the outreach ministry in our own city. Studies show that the Bay Area is the least churched metropolitan area in the United States. On the best attended Sundays of the year, less than 10 percent of our community are in a church of any kind. In contrast, my family had moved from a community in the Midwest where more than 75 percent of people identified with a church, even though many rarely attended. I realized the need to think like a missionary, both in the community where I lived and in the church’s work in Africa.

As the church staff and I wrestled to gain a clearer mission focus for the congregation, we soon recognized that the issue we faced in almost every aspect of our outreach was rooted in the fact that people who were far from God, both in our community and in East Africa, had little or no true knowledge of Jesus. They simply did not know Him! 

The account of Andrew encountering Jesus in John 1:35–42 was extremely instructive for us. John’s words in verses 41–42 gripped my heart. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. 

It became incredibly clear that the fulfillment of the Great Commission must begin by introducing people to Jesus so they can see His compassionate heart for them. Some have little or no knowledge of Him, while others have a mistaken or distorted knowledge. I realized that so much of Great Commission work begins with simply introducing people to Jesus and then walking with them as they grow to become obedient, fully committed followers of the Savior who introduce others to Him. 

Quote: “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” —Samaritan Woman in John 4 

Question? In what ways are you seeking to intentionally introduce people to Jesus, both in your daily life and in your ministry strategies? 

Kevin Kompelien,
President, Evangelical Free Church of America