Ministering Where They Are
Thoughts about reaching people for Jesus.
Not where I think they ought to be; where they are.
Not where they were last time I saw them; where they are.
Not where I assume they are; where they are.
See the differences?
Maybe I think they ought to know better – and maybe they do – but that doesn’t help them connect the dots from where they are to where they need to be. If my biblical counsel doesn’t begin with where they are, they won’t know how to get where God calls them to be.
A man once looked at me from across his living room – tears filling his eyes – and said, “No one ever told me you have to be baptized to be saved!” I was surprised. He grew up attending the congregation where I preached. Surely he knew … right? But what I thought he knew didn’t matter; I needed to figure out where he was.
Of course, there comes a time when we must be held accountable for what we haven’t done when we should have known better.
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.
— Hebrews 5:12–13 (ESV)
And yet even this is a tool in the hands of a skillful minister to remind us of what we know and to call us to faithfulness. In other words, even in this admonition, there is an awareness of where they are.
Consider Jesus
He went where they were. He went to the house of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). He sat at the Samaritan woman’s well, in her town, at her hour (John 4). He ate with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 5:27-32).
He loved them before He preached to them. “Jesus, looking at [the rich young ruler], loved him” (Mark 10:21). He lovingly guided Peter after his denial (John 21). He protected the dignity of the woman caught in adultery, even while addressing her sin (John 8:1-11).
He knew how to reach people. To broken sinners, He was gentle and inviting (Matthew 11:28-30). To religious hypocrites, He was direct and confrontational (Matthew 23). To confused disciples, He was patient and repetitive (Mark 8:17-21). To the proud, He was challenging and exposing (Luke 18:18-23).
He affirmed small beginnings. He honored faith even when it was imperfect. The unnamed dad (Mark 9:24), the woman who touched His garment (Mark 5:25-34), the thief on the cross (Luke 23:39-43) were all met with grace. Jesus meets people in process, not just at maturity.
He never left people where they were. Jesus always invited them forward.
“Go, and sin no more” (John 8:11).
“Follow Me.”
“Take up your cross” (Mark 8:34).
Grace was never permission to stay unchanged; it was power to become new.
To meet people where they are, I need to speak in a way that they can receive, not only in a way that is doctrinally accurate. But remember: meeting people where they are is the starting point – the necessary beginning in order to reach the destination.
Some reflection questions:
Am I more known for listening or for talking?
When someone shares a struggle, is my first instinct to understand or to correct?
Do people feel safe telling me hard, messy, or embarrassing things about their lives? Why or why not?
Am I calling people to growth in ways that are challenging and compassionate?
Who am I currently walking alongside in a long, slow process of growth?