What does the future of your ministry look like? Is it focused on the good news (Gospel) of Jesus AND design? Why should it?
The premise of this article is all about being intentional about the experiences Jesus’ disciples are having. Jesus had an end game in mind. The way he discipled wasn’t random. It didn’t “just happen”.
How many programs and services do you have? How many channels (Web, Social, Mobile, Call Center, Direct Mail, etc.) are you focused on? Do they all have a unified design and experience?
Good News (Gospel) + Design = Intentional disciple experiences
We are clear about the Good News (Gospel) of Jesus. Are we clear about our design? So you are thinking, what does Jesus care about “design” for? I am thinking Jesus spent a lot of time on “intentional design”. Why did he create so many parables? Why did he want a donkey to ride into Jerusalem on? Jesus is intentional.
If not, we aren’t ready to be the digital ministry of the future. If we aren’t ready to be a digital ministry, we aren’t ready for the future. If we aren’t ready for the future, will we be relevant 5 to 10 years from now? Tough questions I know but worth considering.
This may be very new for you. God is intentional that we need to be open. Consider this:
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” ~God
Source: Isaiah 43:18-21 TNIV Bible
So here are a couple more of intriguing questions:
- How do we ensure that Jesus’ disciples are having an amazing experience with Jesus?
- Why make disciples cope with the ordinary? Isn’t Jesus all about the extraordinary?
- Why aren’t disciples more engaged with both our mission and revenue opportunities?
Our focus and day to day work should be about creating “discipleship experiences” in this new age of the connected disciple. What is going on in the rest of the digital world isn’t lost on Jesus’ disciples. They are evaluating our ministry based on those experiences. We can bury our head in the sand. That will only get the message of Jesus left behind.
Disciples expect more from ministries than ever before. So our mission, programs and services have a level of expectation that our ministry may not be aware of. The support of Jesus’ disciples, contributors, members and volunteers have is not necessarily drive by our mission. It is driven by their experience of the ministry and the relationships they have with us. Does God expect us to reach the world? Has He given us the tools (think digital) to do it? Are they being fully utilized in our ministry?
Here is the harsh reality. Jesus’ disciples not only expect better experiences with your ministry, they believe that God wants them to have them. Will we be intentional in delivering on those expectations? Are we ready to get left behind with stagnant growth if we don’t deliver those disciple experiences? We may not be ready for that but it may already be happening. I encourage you to please think about it. It is a good question to ponder.
There is a unique opportunity to create amazing and positive experiences at our services, on the web, on the phone (do you have a call center?), on smart phones and in our direct mail pieces. Are all of those unified? Is the experience amazing?
That amazing or ordinary (or perhaps even bad) experience will be how our ministry is measured in terms of engagement or even our fundraising success. Do we know how Jesus’ disciples feel about the experience they are having with your ministry? If we don’t know, why don’t we? Are we being intentional about that experience they just had with at the service? Is it consistent with the experience they want on your web site?
Here are the key ideas:
- Design intentional discipleship experiences
- Listen to disciples to hear what kind of experience they are having
- Serve others by delivering the amazing
Jesus Quotes and God Thoughts 
Interesting post, but what is an amazing experience with Jesus? How do we give someone an amazing experience with Jesus?
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Tom, thanks as always for the insightful questions.
Merriam-Webster defines amazing as causing astonishment, great wonder, or surprise. Synonyms are astonishing, astounding, surprising, stunning, staggering, shocking, startling, stupefying, breathtaking; awesome, awe-inspiring, sensational, remarkable, spectacular, stupendous, phenomenal, extraordinary, incredible, unbelievable; informal mind-blowing, jaw-dropping; literary wondrous.
The Greek word is ἐξίστημι. It is used 19 times in 17 verses, mostly about something Jesus or the Apostles did. It seems clear Jesus did some very amazing things, even in just what he said sometimes, and people experienced it.
The New Testament has many references using the Greek word, particularly in how it relates to Jesus. A couple of examples are:
Mat 12:23 – All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?”
Mark 2:12 – And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”
Luke 2:47 – And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.
Act 10:45 – All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.
It seems to me Jesus intentionally amazed people. Should we just shoot for the ordinary, mundane or boring?
As to your question on how we give people an amazing experience with Jesus I would suggest we consider that it is a gift of the Holy Spirit but that we can be intention about how we approach it. Jesus seems to have been intentional in his approach to the discipleship experience. I don’t think Jesus was throwing a bunch of random stuff on the wall to see what would stick.
Hope that helps. Be blessed and have a Merry Christmas.
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That is an answer I can accept. It shows me how I can amaze people. I will do what I see you doing. I will point people to Jesus and His Bible, and I will try to share with others the amazement I find God’s Word, our Risen Savior and the salvation He offers each of us.
Thank you!
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i like how scripture dense ur pages here are. as a regular at home mom i attempt to reach people on 2 platforms, neither of which wow’s anyone w/ Jesus. what would u recommend for a non-tech, ordinary, grassroots sort of outreach via technology? i didn’t check all possible titles on Facebook; are u there as well?
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Gwen, thanks for stopping by. I post on Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter mainly. They are all just my personal pages. Be blessed. God is with you and in a great mood.
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