One of the quiet temptations in ministry is the pull to think top-down. We look at our calendars and worry about the program. We strategize for the quarter. We attend meetings to improve the machine. If we’re not careful, we begin to shepherd the system rather than the sheep.
Ministry, biblically understood, is relational. It starts low and grows slowly. Experience affirms that the most transformative ministry happens on a heart-to-heart level. In my own life, transformation can be found over tables, in hospital rooms, on porches and across coffee cups. Likewise, when Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, he didn’t boast about programs or systems, instead he spoke of love: “We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us” (I Thess. 2:8 CSB).
The conviction that gospel work grows from the soil fortifies successful ministries.
The Model of Christ
Jesus didn’t hand out manuals to the multitudes. He walked with them. He healed with His hands. He taught in homes. He wept beside graves. He fed hungry bellies before preaching to hungry souls. He modeled what Eugene Peterson called “a long obedience in the same direction.” Choosing to invest in a few, our Lord didn’t start a department; He discipled men. From those bottom-up investments came the global movement we’re now part of.
Paul followed suit. His letters were saturated with the names of people he prayed for, cried with, trained and sometimes rebuked. His departing instruction to one of the people he invested in was to take “what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses,” and “commit (it) to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (II Tim. 2:2).
Why We Drift Toward the Top
The temptation to prioritize programs stems from a performance-driven culture that seeks measurable success. It’s easier to evaluate attendance than spiritual growth. It’s more immediately rewarding to see a popular event than to weep and wrestle through a person’s suffering. But we must not confuse noise with fruit.
Jesus said, “…The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Matt. 9:37 ESV). The most pressing call to action for the family of God today isn’t to figure out how to reap a larger harvest with less, but to equip more people to start gleaning the crops.
Practical Ways to Think Bottom-Up
So, how do we stay grounded in heart-to-heart ministry? Here are five practical steps:
• Reprioritize People Over Projects. Before planning the next event, ask: “Who am I discipling this month?” Place names before numbers. The shepherd doesn’t just count sheep; he calls them by name.
• Schedule Your Shepherding. Block time each week to be present and intentional in the lives of your church folk. Rather than trying to fit people into your busy schedule, build your ministry around them.
• Train Leaders from the Ground Up. Rather than recruiting warm bodies to fill roles, invest in the hearts of potential leaders. Start with character, not competency. Let them grow through relationships rather than their responsibility.
• Empower Grassroots Mission. Encourage mission that begins with compassion. Celebrate acts of ordinary faithfulness and become the cheerleader for taking action.
• Use Structure to Serve. Structure and organization will always matter. However, be cautious about allowing what exists to supplant the priority of heart-to-heart ministry. Our systems should reflect and reinforce our vision for ministry.
Why the BMA is Special
At every level of the association model of church polity I’ve been a part of, our associations have a ground-up vision and structure. Our history demonstrates that the Baptist Missionary Association’s foundation was rooted in a convictional understanding of a grassroots ministry. The strength of the BMA has come from pastors and churches, men and women, who make personal investments, give sacrificially and labor together for something bigger than themselves.
Today, we find ourselves in a different season. We’ve grown up, gotten more organized and watched our reach expand. By God’s grace, we are accomplishing great things for the kingdom. However, here’s the gentle encouragement I want to offer: let’s not lose the relational DNA that has made the BMA what it is.
Programs do not disciple people. People disciple people.
If our future is going to be as bright as our past has been fruitful, it won’t be because we streamlined every process. It will be because we re-committed ourselves to heart-level ministry (church to church, pastor to pastor, person to person). Participation is the fuel of the association model. When we show up, speak up and serve one another, we find the most success.
The BMA is special because it was born from the bottom up. Let’s keep it that way by insisting that every structure serves the simple, biblical call to make disciples of all nations, even the one across the table.
