Measure Sending Success

Where is God sending you today?

If you’re thinking, “That’s a silly question.”

Think again.

We are sent people. We are always “going” in the name of Jesus. Sometimes we forget to claim that understanding. Other times we are simply unaware that God sends us into the ordinary moments of life. Those moments become God moments when we claim the power of God to use us…just as we are.

Ordinary as being a parent, co-worker, or guest in a store. Routine as stopping for your morning coffee, going for a run (or walk), and eating out at your favorite dinner location. Ordinary as sitting on the sidelines for a ballgame cheering for your grandkids. And, yes, even as ordinary as picking up the daily mail delivered by the postal carrier.

Ordinary Moments are Gospel Moments

What do ordinary moments have to do with being “sent” people? Ordinary moments are the very way Jesus sends the first disciples.

Look at Matthew 28:16-20, Luke 10, or Luke 24. All three are passages about the incarnate God sending his disciples on mission. Jesus meets them in an ordinary moment. Then he invites his followers to help embody his love and point people to God’s reign.

That means missional leadership is about sending people into the world. Remember, our mission isn’t to create a crowd. Our mission is to help people become followers of Jesus so they can become more like Jesus. The process of becoming like Jesus leads us to share the love Jesus first offered to each of us.

And so the “sending cycle” continues.

Jesus sends people to participate in his reign and rule. There are places Jesus sends us. In particular places, with particular people, we learn “as we go” (Matt 28:16) we always encounter a place to be in mission.

So let me ask again, where is God sending you today? Who is God sending you to today? Then, let’s measure our sending success. Doing so will guide us to continue the journey of being and becoming followers of Jesus.

May it be so,

-Sara Thomas