Do not underestimate the power of encouragement. The area of ministry that has changed the most for me in recent years is the time I now dedicate to meeting up with parishioners one-to-one. While proclaiming the word from the pulpit each Sunday is still my number one priority as a minister, the growth I have seen in the people who meet up with others regularly for one-to-one Bible reading, prayer and just generally sharing their lives, has convinced me this should be the number 2 priority in my ministry. Regular encouragement from our Christian brother and sisters produces enormous fruit in the life of the Christian. This is why we read:
Hebrews 2:13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
The way the author wants his readers (which includes you and me) to avoid a ‘hard heart’, which according to Heb 2:12 is ‘a sinful, unbelieving heart’, is to be encouraged by other Christians. When we see up close how other Christians are fighting the good fight, it motivates us to do the same. The main reason I came out of my teenage years still a Christian was (apart from God of course) being encouraged by my Christian leaders, but more importantly by my Christian peers.
Can I please encourage us all to think about finding a Christian peer, of the same sex as us, and ask if they would like to meet up regularly to read the Bible, pray and generally encourage one another in your Christian walk. I suggest this for 2 reasons: (i) we NEED encouragement personally, if we’re going to fight off the constant temptations of sin and unbelief, and (ii) we will be an enormous encouragement to others in this too. Whenever I meet up with parishioners, I often come away more encouraged than them. Please think about making this a regular part of your Christian walk; to encourage one another.
