“Euangelios” is Greek for “the gospel” and is found in our word “evangelize.” This is appropriate for this section because all of the things I believe regarding theology will inform the way that I carry out my ministry in life. First, I should say that I do not see myself as the senior pastor of a church. Instead, I have a real passion for spiritual growth after conversion. As a result of this, I feel the Lord is pulling me in the direction of small group leadership. I think the Lord is beginning a movement in the Church that will focus on deeper relationships with the Lord. People are desiring more in their Christian walks and lives than that which white middle-class America at large is currently offering. People want more, and God is ready and willing to give them exactly that. The real problem is that the people of the Church are rarely exposed to anything beyond justification and the beginnings of regeneration. This is truly sad.
As a result, I believe the Lord is ready to bring back the small group settings that used to be so prevalent in the Church. This was especially prevalent in the early Methodist churches because of Wesley’s emphasis on personal growth in small group settings. I see myself being a part of a similar system where sometime during the week, people will come together at the church of in other designated areas where they will meet with a small group. In these small groups, there would be a facilitator who would help teach more about grace and progressive sanctification. People simply aren’t aware of what God can do past forgiveness of sins, and that needs to change before the other “symptoms” that people complain about in the Church can be remedied. Honestly, I think the lack of knowledge is responsible for many of the problems in the Church today. This is why I see myself being involved on that level. I want to help people be made aware of all the things that God can do in the lives of believers. The Church needs to be armed with knowledge. From knowledge springs action. From action come results. From results (spiritual growth) more lives are impacted, and the least and the last and the lost can find themselves affected by the immense power of Christlike love and sacrifice that infiltrates the core of the secular world to renew passion in the Church for the sake of Christ and the Kingdom of God. This is what changes the world one soul at a time.
Because of this profound lack of knowledge, I feel a calling to work within the Wesleyan denomination and to being active in reviving a Wesleyan tradition. John Wesley took these small groups very seriously. He had strict rules to the point that if they were not followed, one might find themselves removed from the group for their lack of discipline and commitment. He had different classes for different stages in spiritual growth. There were classes for the newborn believers in order to help them reach a point in their lives where willful sin no longer has a hold on them. There were more advanced classes, also, for those who were looking for a deeper relationship with the Lord past that point and were on their way to sanctification. These divisions, I believe, are necessary. In this day and age, everyone is concerned with equality. They want everyone to be accepted into any group across the boards. Where there are divisions, there are tensions, and there are jealous or upset people. This simply needs to change. It is not shameful to know oneself in their spiritual maturity. It takes discipline and humility to know where oneself is in that journey. It shows maturity when one can step back and analyze where they are in their walk with God and place themselves accordingly among the right people and in the right environments to bring positive change. We cannot be too concerned with making everyone simply “feel good” when the quality of spiritual growth and the level of cooperation with grace is at stake.
Because of this, I believe it is necessary to have someone in every church who is responsible for these group meetings. They would facilitate the meetings, and they would be honest with the church members giving real feedback and advice as to where they belong in regards to their spiritual state. I hope to find myself actively involved in young adult ministries in the near future as I refine my own beliefs and disciplines so that eventually I can serve the Lord wherever He wants me to be. I hope to grow in knowledge and in grace so that my testimony and the words I speak would impact hearts and lives for the good of the Lord and His kingdom.
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