Throughout scripture we see the
importance of personal contact.
There must be a personal connection for discipleship
to take place.
Discipleship involves investing into the life of a person
and this is best done at close proximity.
But discipleship is not the same as ministry because
it discounts a lot of work that takes place in and out of
the church.
Without a doubt, Jesus made the most
impact on His disciples.
He invested the most time into them and was the
closest to them.
In turn they turned the world upside down for Him.
But Jesus certainly ministered outside of this
setting. He
ministered to the crowds.
In a gathering of 5,000 men (likely 20,000 when
counting women and children) people weren’t even close
enough that all could see Him well and yet He still
ministered.
Likewise, Paul traveled and formed new
churches and made personal contacts everywhere he went.
Paul obviously had a lasting impact on those people.
But Paul was able to minister to far more people
through his letters, to people whom he did not have contact
with. The letter
to the Romans is perhaps our deepest theological book and it
is written to a group of people that Paul had not even
personally met but longed to see.
Paul obviously ministered to people who were far away
from him and many that he would never even meet.
Today’s world is redefining proximity.
If I wanted to, I could have a video conference with
a person on the other side of the world.
Our opportunity for personal impact has been greatly
extended. And
our reach for ministry, regardless whether it is
discipleship or simply teaching the Bible, is greater than
ever. You’re
either reading this online or you are reading a copy that
has been printed from the internet.
In an instant we can share information with people
from all over the world.
This allows to minister to anyone at any time of day
without leaving our homes.
I have run a website for over 10 years
and have been able to share my thoughts and writings with
well over a million people in that time.
My main website alone attracts over 150,000 visitors
per year. Paul
certainly had a greater impact on the people that he
ministered to but thanks to technology I can minister to
more people in a year than Paul could have dreamed of.
In
the end, discipleship needs proximity but ministry can
happen from the comfort of our homes and extend to the
furthest parts of the world.
There is a difference, some would say quantity over
quality. A
discipling relationship takes much more time and effort but
will produce greater results within one person.
Other types of ministry can reach a greater number of
people without making as great of an impact as a discipling
relationship.
