What's stopping you from venturing out?

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20

I remember my very first day at my one and only retail job. I was a part time student who had little, to no experience in talking with random strangers, let alone trying to convince them to buy something from me. But I knew that if I didn’t step up to the role of providing good customer service, to meet my sales targets and commission, I would lose my job.

So, on my first day, I paid close attention to the way my manager related to the customers. Firstly, I noticed the manner in which she welcomed them and the way she initially approached them. I listened to the types of questions she asked in order to learn more about their needs, and then I observed how she informatively recommended products before closing the sale.

When my very first customer walked in, I remember feeling extremely nervous, and thought I was only going to stuff everything up and never make a sale. But, I had no other choice but to “bite the bullet”, psych myself up, and go for it! I tried to imitate my manager as best I could, and after a successful sale, I quickly realized how silly I was to doubt my ability.  When my second customer walked in, I jumped at the chance to serve them, and was actually really excited about it. Needless to say, that later on that year, I was offered a management position!

This customer service mentality and experience greatly encouraged me to speak to strangers when sharing the gospel with them. If we compare the two situations; customer service and sharing the gospel with strangers or with people we don't know very well, they are very similar circumstances we can find ourselves in.

Just before Jesus ascended into Heaven, He commissioned His Apostles to go out and make disciples of all the nations Matthew 28:18-20. As we read from the book of Acts all the way through to the Pauline Epistles and the Letters of the New Testament, and also look at our own Church history literature, we witness how the Apostles and disciples faithfully obeyed Christ’s command to spread His life giving Gospel (good news about Jesus and His love)… some of them working even unto their death!

If the Apostles were willing to die for the spread of the Gospel, why do we take this command so lightly? As professing, baptised Christians, it is our duty to share the Gospel with other people. Just as the Apostles were commissioned by Christ, who in turn taught their disciples and our Church Fathers and saints who obeyed this command, we are called to do the same. In a sense, we are working to share or “sell” (customer service term only) the Gospel of Christ for the benefit of the individual, for the growing of the Church family and ultimately, for the growth of Gods Kingdom.

So why is it so hard for some of us to speak to people we do not know very well in our very own Church? Why is it so hard to venture out of our comfort zones, leave our group of friends during Church fellowship and try to share Christ's love with the new girl or woman who has been coming to church for the last month and has been sitting by herself? Are we looking for our own personal gain before we make a move?... "Someone else will do it" or "I can’t be bothered. I’ve been wanting to catch up with my friends all week!" These are invalid excuses. Are we scared we'll say the wrong words or feel awkward by approaching the newcomer? Or are we embarrassed of what our “friends” with think of us?

If our own personal feelings are deterring us from following this important command, then clearly we are putting ourselves and our own selfish desires before God. We are showing God that we do not have enough faith in Him to work through us, to simply show people His love. God’s love is the very reason that people are drawn to Him, and want to come to church to experience. 

Moses was commissioned by God to go to Egypt and command Pharaoh to let Gods enslaved people free. When Moses was too afraid to action Gods bidding, God rebuked him by saying, "Who has made man’s mouth!” Exodus 4:11

If you, like Moses are thinking, “I'm not a confident speaker” or “I don’t know how to share Gods Word with people yet”, or even “how would I know how to welcome a stranger?” Don't feel dismayed or anxious about it. Welcoming a newcomer doesn't mean you have to preach to them. Just imitate your "manager" or "boss", Jesus Christ. Show them His love, compassion and generosity. Above all, pray in your heart, and ask Him to give you the words to say to the person(s). You will be surprised at how the Almighty God will use you as His instrument to glorify His name through your Christ-like actions.  1 John 4:18-21

Let us start sharing Christ with each other face-to-face in our own "backyard,” amongst our own church community before trying to venture out into the wider community and even the cyber world! Challenge yourself this coming week to speak to another woman from Church who you don’t know.

Once you venture out, you’ll never want to go back ;)

This Week’s Song: My own little world - Matthew West