AtkinsOne of the joys of being president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention this year has been having one of my dear friends serve as my first vice president. Brad Kelley has served as pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in the West Union community for the past three years. He has written an article that speaks to all of us about the need to have a rightly focused heart for ministry, and I would like to share it with you here. – Brad Atkins
Over the summer, God has given me the privilege of working with young people through our student ministry at Ebenezer Baptist Church. The other night, I was talking with them about how their first day of school went. One of my students, a 9th-grader, asked, “How do I go up to one of those guys I don’t even know and ask them to come to church – or even try to share Jesus with them?”
I said, “Wow, that’s a great question. OK, guys, what should the answer be?” (In today’s Christian culture, I’m sure there would be a number of tactical answers to that question.) Before anyone else could say a thing, one of my 11th-graders said, “You’ve got to build a relationship with him!” I asked him to explain. He said, “You reach him with heart!” I was amazed at his answer.
KelleyA heart! In my 18-plus years of serving Jesus Christ, I have noticed that a heart is the one thing that is most needed, both here and around the world.
I know, I know – we’ve heard it all before. But think about it: The very reason for our push for the Great Commission Resurgence is to put more missionaries on the field so that more hearts can be present to build relationships with those in need of Christ. It is the same when it comes to children, youth, college, and adults of all ages – the need for a heart to reach them with love.
I remember my days at North Greenville College. I had a professor named Mike Landrum. I thought he was a little crazy and “out there” at first. One day, he had us all line up, and as we walked out the door he stopped each of us, gave us a look deep into our hearts, and said, “I want you to know that I love you!” I really appreciated that day. I stood in the hall and saw people come out – some looking kind of weird, but some in tears. Mike Landrum taught that ministry is all about heart and relationships. I took many classes at North Greenville and had some really awesome professors, but that one class, and what I learned, shaped the fundamental concepts of the way I do ministry.
As we continue to move forward in the ministries of our churches, state, nation, and all around the world, my prayer is that we do so with heart. Only when our hearts are in unity with Jesus Christ will we ever have a desire to reach out and build relationships with those in need of Christ love and say, “I love you!”
“And he answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself’?” (Luke 10:27, ESV).