The Quality Every Impactful Christian Must Possess

There is a congregation in a major American city whose members regularly baptize close to three hundred people a year. There is a missionary who taught thousands of people all over the Caribbean and South America and helped plant dozens of congregations. There was a lady who was still visiting, teaching and serving people in one of the poorest countries on earth well into her nineties. There are people all over the world who spend hours every week ministering to a handful of children in their Bible class – classes their students remember fondly decades after leaving them.

There is no doubt these people had a positive impact on God’s Kingdom. The average Christian would claim they could never be one of those people. They will say they aren’t gifted by God in the same ways. Or they don’t have the ability to travel or the time to teach others hours a day.

Yet if you asked any of the people involved in these ministries, they would tell you God has blessed their efforts. They didn’t necessarily start out as gifted teachers, but after years of practice some of them were. They weren’t perfect Christians. They made possibly as many mistakes as they had great ideas.

Some had special training and some didn’t. Some had the gift of teaching, while others were perhaps given it as they continued to try sharing their faith. Most didn’t come from wealthy families and had to search for or earn the money they needed to live and do their ministry. Some were paid to minister full time, but most did it in their free time.

So what did they all have in common? A passion for lost souls. If you don’t have that passion, your ministry – personal or corporate – will never impact as many people as God wanted it to in His plans. You won’t see very many people decide to become Christians or grow to become stronger Christians as a result of your efforts. Without a passion for lost souls, your ministry will never be more than a mere shadow of the potential God gave it.

You can’t really fake a passion for lost souls for very long. You can’t be taught passion. You can’t purchase it. It has to come from deep within you. It comes from truly understanding the reality of Heaven and Hell and the vital importance of helping people get to Heaven. It comes from time spent in prayer and scripture. It comes from loving people and wanting more than anything to save them from eternal torment – even when they are enmeshed in possibly horrifying sins.

Your passion for lost souls will make you more willing to spend the time and effort to make the changes we suggest to your Bible lessons, classes and ministry activities. It will encourage you to invest the time in building deeper relationships with your Bible students and their families. It will help you find the time necessary to think about what each person needs from you or your ministry to become who God wants them to be. It will encourage you to strip away fads and trends and focus on what actually makes a difference in the spiritual lives of young people. It will help you find the time to have the one on one Bible studies some people will need before deciding to become a Christian.

I won’t kid you. Passion for lost souls can be exhausting and heartbreaking at times. There will be times when you are discouraged as other Christians around you can’t understand your passion. But those precious souls who need someone to be passionate about their eternal destination will respond to your passionate love and teaching. Not all of them, but more than respond to a lackluster ministry. If you don’t accomplish anything else in the next day, week or month, find your passion for lost souls. It will be transformative.

Categories Bible, Elementary, Faith Based Academic Program, Mentoring, Preschool, Special Needs, Teens
search previous next tag category expand menu location phone mail time cart zoom edit close