Dear Team,
* Note: I am not mentioning the name of the country I am in, intentionally. If you don't know where I am, reach out to me and I will let you know privately. It is illegal to share the gospel where I am, therefore communication with the outside world about what's going on is limited. It must not be on social media in any way. Keep this in mind as you read. I personally am not in danger, the worst that could happen to me, at least legally, is to get deported. The ministry and for the missionaries I work with however, this is not the case. They could be arrested and disappear if info got out, because of this I must be careful.
They say if you want to see your city in a new way, get on a plane and fly over it. The views from a plane can sometimes be eerie. Cars begin to look like ants. People are but specks. Highways we’ve driven 1,000 times fade into skinny hardly distinguishable lines stretching into the horizon. And our churches and workplaces become indistinguishable. This illustrates for us a principle: distance grants perspective. I too see my hometown now with a new perspective due to an airplane, yet not because I flew over it. Rather because I flew thousands of miles away from it. This time has given me a perspective otherwise I would not have had. I hope to share what I now see about our American lives and ministries, hopefully enlightening you as my readers and support team as I have been enlightened. I think if you invest your time to read it Jesus will use this update to bless your thinking as well.
They say “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” I now know this is true. The phrase, “You often don’t know what you have until it’s gone.” is also a profoundly reliable statement. We must, however, probe deeper. We must ask the question “why?”. Otherwise, I don’t think we’ll ever learn to get ahead of the curve. I think we’ll always sit where I have sat this semester, in the sting of losing that which is truly valuable until we feel the sting of losing the next thing and the process repeats. I think both of these statements are true because of what absence and loss accomplish. They are true because of the place where these two things bring you, and thereby the perspective they grant you. This perspective can sometimes come in the form of loss, meaning it's too late for you to change your value system, as with my heartbreaking relational situation previously mentioned. Other times, it comes in the form of temporary absence; in these cases, it allows you the opportunity to adjust and apply what you have learned from your new perspective. This is what I believe God used the time outside of America, and thereby outside of the ministry that takes place there, to do in my life. The ability to speak on my own was now absent due to the language barrier. The legal freedom to share the gospel was also now absent. The way in which the gospel was shared in the States was also completely absent… and for good reason. This absence allowed me the distance and perspective to see things for what they really are.
Perhaps the best way to tell you of my changed perspective is to tell you of my previous one first. I knew I wanted to commit my entire life to ministry and I was already exercising this. However, I was a true American minister, who thought like a true American. My Western way of thinking actually kept me from thinking the way Jesus thought about life and ministry. I will explain… The American church is very proficient at teaching and emphasizing addition. We are addition experts. I, like many Americans, had a deep desire to see as many of my countrymen come to know Christ as possible. I naturally thought "Well how can I accomplish this?”. It seemed obvious to me that the best way to see more salvations is for more people to hear the gospel. “If you want more people to accept the gospel, tell it to more people.” I thought. This is not necessarily wrong, nor is it a bad desire, but the method I used because of this kind of thinking was faulty. I assumed the best way to get the most people to accept the gospel was to gather as many people as possible and tell them the gospel all at once. This method made the most sense in my efficiency-driven, western mind.
I practiced this method for years and while there was some fruit it never seemed to produce the salvations I longed to see. For whatever reason though I just thought, “Well maybe next time.” and repeated the process. I even went as far as to think my ministry, due to my desire to see lots of people saved, would end up being like Billy Graham’s or someone else who evangelized with the same model. I am not criticizing ministries like Graham’s, they have their place. In his time it was an effective means of evangelism. Evangelism even plays out this way in the Book of Acts at times. But I have realized successful evangelism done in this way is typically the exception, not the rule. This is not the model Jesus nor the early church gave us. While this on occasion can add lots of people to the kingdom, it rarely ever reaches beyond the number saved at that initial gathering. It rarely ever has a multiplying effect in the community in which it takes place. Those who are saved in these gatherings often begin their Christian journey with a misconception. That misconception says that the job of evangelism belongs to the man on the stage. And thereby the new converts live their whole lives thinking this is the case, and miss the very point of why they are even still on this planet. Oh, but they are taught to “bring a friend” next Sunday. This is “addition 101” taught throughout churches in the West today. No wonder we have so little impact on the culture. Jesus taught us to multiply. Our culture has taught us to add. We must decide to follow Jesus, not Western culture.
I have matured in my thinking about ministry through this time, and I have even been able to evangelize in a new way. I once only knew to add but my Father has now been sitting with me and diligently teaching me my multiplication tables. The Apostle Paul says, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” I think it is time for us Americans to put away addition and start multiplying. It’s time for us to move from the second grade, learning to add, and move up to the third, where we can learn to multiply. It’s time for us to stop speaking, understanding, and thinking like children and start doing so like Jesus. (Ephesians 4:15) But how did Jesus do evangelism?
Jesus lived His life entirely dependent upon God as He lived entirely as a man. While Jesus was 100% God He did not exercise His privileges as God. Instead, He walked in dependence upon His Father. (see Phil 2:6-8, John 5:19-20 & 30, 6:57, 8:28, 14:10) Therefore, we can actually do what He did if we depend on God and not programs or preachers. (see 1 John 2:6 & John 14:12) He lived as a model for us and He modeled a method of dependence upon God. In His dependence, He also spoke and modeled a lot that God instructed Him to do and speak. There is a lot that we can learn from this model…
First, Jesus pursued people, not crowds. He often avoided crowds. Yet He never avoided women at wells or men who sought Him in the night with questions. (see John 3 and 4) Jesus cared about people, not about numbers. This a mindset switch that would behoove American Christians in our pursuit to impact the culture and to cease thinking and acting like children. This genuine care impacted people on a deep level and allowed Him to reach into their lives pointedly with the gospel.
Second, Jesus ministered as He went. Ministry was his life, not his job. He naturally shared with all those He interacted with in daily life not just those he interacted with at church or on a week-long “mission trip”. Truth is if you are a follower of Jesus you are a missionary. God has entrusted you with a mission and instructed you to rely on Him to accomplish it through you in your daily life. Where this plays out is incidental. The question is are you going to walk in obedience to your Father as a mature son or daughter or in disobedience like a child? You must begin to see every conversation, interaction, and discussion as an opportunity for ministry and for sharing the gospel and relying on Christ to live and speak through you in all of them. This can sound exhausting but in relying upon Him to live through you there is rest even in the midst of activity. This is your purpose and walking with God and relying upon Him to accomplish it will make life worth living.
Third, Jesus asked questions. He asked thought-provoking questions and got to know people. Again, He genuinely cared about them as a person. Then he pointedly applied the gospel to their lives according to what they needed. Jesus spoke to people in a fashion that was tailor-made, not cookie-cutter. And His intentional questions forced people to examine their hearts and thinking.
Lastly, Jesus invested in the lives of His converts. He discipled people who would disciple people. He then instructed us to “go make disciples” as He did. He was interested in building maturity in His followers because He knew if He did they would multiply and teach others who will teach others. (2 Timothy 2:2) If He did not discipline them to maturity they would not multiply. Because Jesus understood the principle of multiplication and compound interest over time He was more concerned with the quality of those He discipled than the quantity. Hence why He stuck with only 12 of them for 3 years straight. A disciple means a student, a follower. Of course, the disciples we make are to be followers of Jesus, but they are also to be followers of us as we teach them and help them mature and equip them to go make disciples of their own as we did with them. This model was set by Jesus. This is how multiplication can actually happen.
Let me give an illustration to wrap up. My dad began taking me hunting as a kid and I have loved it ever since. There are two main types of guns used while hunting: shotguns and rifles. The difference is that the ammunition fired by a shotgun is full of thousands of tiny little metal balls that begin to disperse when leaving the firearm. This shoots a broad span and is used to take down moving targets because its wide span allows room for error. It also allows for, if game animals are close enough together, to take multiple at a time. We as the American church have figuratively speaking of course been packing people in close and we stand back using a shotgun approach to “get as many as possible”. The downside of a shotgun, however, is that at a certain distance, these BBs do not have enough power or mass to get to the vitals of an animal. So many times the BBs just bounce off or leave the game injured if used in this way. We have all witnessed a gospel presentation that felt powerful but seemed to only “bounce off the skin” of the non-believers present. And for every 3 that they bounced off of there was likely at least one who walked away injured.
Jesus uses a different approach and instructs us to do the same. Ministries here in the East are much better at this approach. Perhaps because they come from an Eastern mindset and warm culture similar to that of Jesus. Regardless though we have a lot to learn from them. They are not chained mentally in the shackles of efficiency as we are but instead value quality in their ministry and relationships even if it doesn't happen fast. They are intentional like Jesus in building these relationships, earning respect and trust, and getting to know people on a deep level. They care about people and then after investing in the person’s life, they are naturally offered windows into their hearts and souls. They then pointedly apply the gospel to this particular person. (See John 4) Then they then wait for another opportunity and they do the same, doing this over and over again until the person comes to accept Jesus. In this way, the gospel is presented on a heart and soul level to the person, not a surface level. They, like Jesus, have metaphorically zoomed in the scope of their rifle and narrowed it right on the heart of that individual. Firing a round unlike that of the shotgun, one that is pointed and aimed strategically. Of course, unlike hunting wild game, they have done so to bring the person life not death. Then after this person accepts their tailormade presentation they disciple that person and teach them to do the same in the lives of others.
I am terribly excited to take what I’ve learned here and apply it to my hometown. I long to see a DMM (Disciple Making Movement) take place in Marshall County, at MCHS, and at Murray State University (where I am attending this fall). I don’t see myself as leaving the mission field. I only see myself as changing locations. In my new location, a secular college, people need Jesus in the same way they need Him here. The best part is there is no language barrier, religious barrier, and there and no cops seeking to stop me from sharing in this new location. I see the opportunity for evangelism as I go through life there in a whole new way than I did a year ago. Because of my absence, I now see how profound of an opportunity I really have in Western Kentucky. I asked God to widen my horizon through this gap year and He did it. He placed me on top of a hill where I could see the whole world from a new perspective. Then placed His arm around me and said, “Son, now I want you to take all I've shown you and take that back to Western Kentucky. I'll be with you every step of the way.”
I have only two weeks left here and now I am coming to terms with the fact I am soon to return home. These next two weeks will be quite crazy so this is the last time I will update you as a team while I am here. Once arriving back home I will be more free to share stories about evangelistic encounters and some of the things God did here. For now, I am selective with what I do and do not put in these for safety reasons. I will give a final synopsis of my gap year when I get my feet planted on American ground. Ground I am sure to kiss and forever appreciate in an entirely new way. In this update, I hope to express how much God used you donors, and supporters to accomplish. He did a lot through me this year which impacted a lot of people. But it has become abundantly clear that He has used this year and thereby your all's support to do far more in me. These things will forever change how I go about life and ministry. You all, God willing, are sure to impact thousands of people and generations to come by investing in me this year as it has set me up for a lifetime of ministry. For this I am thankful and I want to give you a glimpse of what God has done in me.
The other day on one of my frequent Uber rides around our city I began to think about going home. My heart longs for the youth group students I used to minister to with whom I have deep bonds. I began to remember the way they all prayed for me before I left and sent me off with tears in their eyes. Soon my mind began to imagine the joy on their faces amidst my return. “What will they say?” I began to wonder and then thought, “Well they're sure to ask me how it was…”. I then quickly began thinking, “Well what will I tell them?” I can't just give them a simple “good”, but the true answer is very complex and may take a lot of time. I settled on this… When I see them and they ask me such a question I will stop them and say, “Can I tell you a quick story?” I will then look them in the eyes and tell them, “When I arrived I was absolutely heartbroken over an ended relationship back home, I was super overwhelmed by all the culture shock and new dangers I was experiencing, I felt terribly lonely, and I was extremely anxious. The first week of nights I could not sleep even though I was deliriously tired. I would lay in my bed staring at the ceiling listening to the street sounds, men yelling in unknown languages, packs of stray dogs barking, and cars honking constantly, as I listened, tears would roll down my face as my mind raced. I then remembered something I had taught 1000 times, “Take your thoughts captive and dwell on truth”. So I would lay there each night and say to myself/God ‘I know You are with me and I know You care.’ and again, ‘I know You are with me and I know You care.’ and again, and again, until eventually I would believe it and fall asleep. And God spent 3 months set on proving to me over and over again that those two things were true. He walked with me, He comforted me, He healed me, He counseled me, He disciplined me, He led me, He taught me, and He loved on me in ways I had never dreamed of. I learned what it means to live by His life and depend on Him. And now I can tell you with a tested experiential knowledge, that all the things I have told you about Him over the years are true. He truly is with me and He truly does care. And the same for you. You can put everything you hold dear in His hands and trust that He means you well.” And I imagine I'll cry a tear, just as I cried while writing this.
Thank you for your investment in me this year. May God bless you for it as much as He has blessed me. If this has been a blessing for you and you are led to and would like to continue investing in my life and ministry I would greatly appreciate it. I feel the mission field God is calling me to next is just as important as the one I am currently in because people need Jesus there just as badly. If you’re interested, reach out to me and I will let you know what this will look like now. If not, I still tremendously appreciate your support this year and I thank God for you.
May you enjoy Him like never before and may the world see the huge smile He puts on your face!
-Gage Lynch
