Basic Principle #1: “The ministry starts with the Body.”
The “ministry” is not only to those OUTSIDE the body of Christ, but also to those INSIDE it. “Come and see,” Jesus invited. In order for us to be inviting to those “outside” there needs to be something DIFFERENT on the inside!
As we all know, lives don’t (usually) change instantaneously when Jesus takes up residence in us: change requires intentional Bible study, prayer, quality time with other believers and sometimes very long, deep struggles with life itself. It often takes someone pouring into us. Hence a foundational part of “ministry” is pouring into other believers, “iron sharpening iron” and “encouraging one another.”
Jesus is a great example of this: He didn’t evangelize the world – He poured into 12 men for three years. Those men, then fully equipped with the knowledge and experiences Jesus had led them into and with the Holy Spirit, then went out and changed the world!
Following Jesus’ example, a very important part of our ministry as leaders in this body of believers is pouring life, love and knowledge into our “disciples,” in this case, our Huddles. And of course, encouraging them to do the same with someone else – inside or outside of the Body.
To quote A.W. Tozer, “Our Lord said ‘Go ye,’ but He also said, ‘Tarry ye,’ and the tarrying had to come before the going” (Of God and Men, p.37).
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