A long, long time ago, 27 years to be exact, I spent my first summer in New York City. I arrived with a team (nearly 60 of us) from Liberty University in early June and left the city in late August to return back to college. I was twenty years old at the time. I was foolish, naïve, proud, and scared. I came to minister to the upper west side of Manhattan. I believed we’d change the city for God that summer. Instead, God used the city to change us.
As I look back on my life, I view that short 75 day period of time as one of the most life changing times I can remember. Our team experienced cross cultural ministry first hand. We were a group of mostly middle class Caucasian kids placed in Washington Heights among people of Latino and Jewish heritage. We learned about poverty and despair as we knocked on doors and met people in the most desperate of situations. Our eyes were opened to so many things and we began to view the city and the people in it, in a very different way. Of all the amazing things we saw and experienced, however, the most remarkable was seeing men and women come to Christ and have their lives dramatically changed. The Lord used us in spite of ourselves.
Life change is quite interesting. It rarely occurs in a positive way by accident. Positive life change occurs when it is intentional. The changes in my life during that summer so long ago happened because of some very specific steps that our team took in order to foster a climate of spiritual growth. These steps will put you and I in a place where positive growth and change are almost inevitable.
First of all, our team members were committed to the Lord and to doing what He wanted. God desires that all of us be surrendered to Him so that He can shape us. “Living sacrifices” tend to crawl off the altar and need to re-consecrate themselves on a daily, hourly, moment-by-moment basis.
Secondly, we also were committed to the body of Christ which for that summer, was our team. Maturity doesn’t occur in a vacuum. It happens in the context of God’s family. As we serve Christ together we help each other grow up into His image.
A third critical element of our climate for change was our time for personal devotions with the Lord. We hit the streets every day to share our faith with complete strangers. However, before we left our home base each day we read our Bibles and prayed. Once a week we did almost nothing else but spend time with God. The result of this was that our souls were so filled with the Truth of God’s Word that sharing it with others was no problem at all.
Fourthly, we were actively sharing our faith. Telling others about Christ keeps us sharp. It reminds us how lost we all are without Christ. It reminds us of the power of the Gospel and the depth of God’s grace to those of us who have believed and to those who are still lost. I have never met a person who is actively sharing their faith who is not growing in their relationship with God. Along with the privilege of sharing our faith came the responsibility of discipling those who made professions of faith. Caring for new believers in Christ is every believer’s job and it does immeasurable good for both the givers and receivers of that care.
Fifthly, we made time for exercise and fun. We played basketball and softball two days a week. We went to ball games and saw all the great sites of this city. We ate ethnic foods and went on picnics. We truly enjoyed ourselves.
As I look at the summer ahead of us my prayer is that it will not be a wasted time, but one in which each of us grows as a Christian. I know that spiritual growth will not happen accidentally. We must create an atmosphere in which that growth will occur. This will involve commitment to God and to His plan for our lives. It will also require a commitment to those in our church family. We will need to plan to have a devotional life that will spiritually enrich us. We will also have to be people who share Christ with others and do what we can to foster growth in those who already know Christ. Finally, we’ll need to make time for exercise and entertainment. That will help keep us fresh and energized.
Have a great summer
Dave Watson - An Urban Christian
