Recently, I participated in the 75th anniversary of one of our great Kentucky Baptist churches. This church started in 1948 with a small band of believers who had a vision for impacting their neighborhood for Jesus. Those Christ-followers worked, prayed, gave and sacrificed to purchase land, build buildings, hire staff and accept leadership roles — all for the sake of advancing the Great Commission.
In 75 years, they have invested more than $1.2 million in gospel-advancing ministry through the Cooperative Program. Since 1980, they have baptized more than 1,200 of their neighbors, friends, sons and daughters as they professed personal faith in Christ as their Lord and Savior. They now have six multi-ethnic sister churches that meet in their building each Lord’s Day with a few hundred people from several tribes, tongues and nations worshiping Jesus in their native language and reaching their own friends and family for Christ. This is gospel multiplication at its best!
That early group of believers who gathered nearly eight decades ago could never have imagined this level of fruit-bearing ministry when they started.
The well-worn phrase known as the Gates Law, though the quote is not original with Bill Gates, reminds us of the importance of vision, perseverance and time. The Gates Law states, “Most people overestimate what they can achieve in a year and underestimate what they can achieve in 10 years.”
What could you or your church do in 10 years? Here are some possibilities:
1. You could plant or replant another church. Healthy churches plant churches. Today we are seeing many dying churches be replanted with fresh vision and leadership and some of those churches are experiencing growth and gospel impact. Could your church plant or replant a church over the next 10 years?
2. You could disciple a group of young men or women for life and ministry. When a mature leader spends time helping others grow in their faith and practice, we are making an investment that will reap amazing dividends. Richard Blackaby posted on social media recently, “Invest in people. They pay the highest dividends, over the course of eternity.”
3. You could help a seminary student complete ministry training. While a friend of mine, Keith Tyner, paid my tuition through seminary, it was a Kentucky Baptist church — Blue Spring Baptist in the Little River Association — that sent a check each month to help our family get through school. That monthly gift supported us in ways they could not have imagined — not only with physical needs, but also mentally and emotionally, knowing that someone was helping us.
4. You could partner with an IMB missionary for ministry in their area. Years ago, several Kentucky Baptist churches moved from annual mission trips to various places to picking one place and going back year after year in hopes of having a greater impact. The result has been a deep investment in local leadership and in church strengthening and church planting.
5. You could help a crisis pregnancy center remodel their building. There are approximately 50 Pregnancy Resource Centers (PRC) listed on KBC’s website. These ministries perform a much-needed service, and they are always looking for churches and individuals to partner with them. A long-term investment could be a win, win, win for the PRC, the church that partners and the people the ministry serves.
6. You could develop a team of Disaster Relief volunteers. Disaster Relief remains one of the “Gold Standard” ministries of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. These men and women are ready on short notice to run to the aid of those whose world has been upended by a natural disaster. A church that makes DR a priority can make a great gospel impact.
7. You could build an evangelistic culture into your church. Most churches are not evangelistic churches, and the ones that are did not become such by accident. They had a pastor and key leaders who consistently reminded their members that they had one mission — the Great Commission — and that each believer must be part of it.
Imagine if you sought the Lord for what He wanted to do in your place of ministry, and you gave yourself to that priority over an extended period. God can use you and your church to make a great gospel difference. The greatest impact, of not only your own life but also your church or ministry, will not happen quickly, but instead over time.
Dr. Todd Gray 