Strategic Action Step No. 3 in Vision 2025 is “to increase our total number of workers in the field through a new emphasis on ‘calling out the called,’ and then preparing those who are called out by the Lord.”
Rob Patterson
Talk with any pastor and the reality of Luke 10:2 is reconfirmed. The problem does not lie with the harvest. It is still plentiful! The challenge is finding evangelistic workers to work the field. Getting the gospel to every home will require a record mobilization of Kentucky Baptists, so here are some starting points for “calling out the called.”
Pray evangelistically is the mandate of Luke 10:2: “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (NKJV). Why not make a commitment to pray each day at 10:02 a.m. or p.m. for God to send out more workers?
One of the incredible benefits of ‘Who’s Your One?’ is that praying for lost people by name rekindles our evangelistic burden, making us more likely to share our faith. How could the impact of our churches be multiplied if we faithfully pray that God would mobilize more of us to the field?
Focus on the fields. In John 4:35, Jesus admonishes, “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest?’ Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” Too many churches get stuck thinking, “Once we get all of these other things in place, then we can do evangelism.” The fact is the fields are already white for harvest!
One of our church planting mottos as missionaries was, “The resources come from the harvest.” The gifted leaders you are longing for likely do not yet know Christ, so whether in church planting or revitalization, start with evangelistic disciplemaking. If you wait until you have everything in place, you are unlikely to transition to effective evangelism later.
Clarify your leadership pathway. “Calling out the called” communicates the importance of clearly calling people to respond to vocational calls to ministry or missions. Calling out the called is vital, but so too is having a clear leadership de- velopment pathway for every believer (Eph. 4:11). What good is calling out the called if we do not have a clear next step or path for them to follow?
Top among the investments my pastor made into my life was inviting me into opportunities of service. Looking back, I recognize those baby steps of service started as soon as I surrendered to Jesus as a teen, but the intentionality ramped up as I began to explore a vocational call. He taught me the three words that can transform any equipping ministry, “Come go with.”
Those three words can mobilize Kentucky Baptists to the field. “I’m going to knock on some doors, why don’t you come go with me? We’re going to meet this need or host this event so that we can share Jesus, why don’t you come go with us?” How frequently are you inviting people to join you in the field?
We are mobilizing to get the gospel to every home. Won’t you come go with us?
Rob Patterson is evangelism team leader for the Kentucky Baptist Convention.
Rob Patterson