Seeking Lost Sheep
“The Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep” (John 10:11). If I would be successful as a church planter, I must learn from the Good Shepherd to give myself for the sheep.
There are two kinds of sheep for which the church planter must be concerned. We must seek the “other sheep” that the Savior would bring into the fold. In John 10:16 Jesus was looking ahead to those who in the future would respond to the gospel. In church planting we must have this same focus. We can’t be content with those who are already in the fold, we must be constantly looking for the lost around us, and say with the Good Shepherd, “Them also I must bring.”
The Savior told us to make disciples by “going,” not by waiting for people to come to us (Matthew 28:19). We will never build the church unless we go out to find the lost and give them the gospel. In great commission work, it is far too easy to slip into the mindset of putting out our sign, doing a good job of marketing, and hoping people will find their way to us. We must not allow this to happen!
Several years ago I met with a church planter and his core group in the beginning stages of their ministry. Someone in the group commented, “I have invited lots of people but none of them seem to want to come to our meetings.” My response (which I feared may have been somewhat brusque) was, “Why would they want to?” The unbeliever does not by nature have a desire for the fellowship of God’s people or the teaching of His word. The sheep who is lost will not naturally seek the shepherd – he is distracted by the things around him and may not even recognize his condition.
Jesus came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). He alone could do the saving – but He expects us to do the seeking.
In every flock there will also be believers who will go astray. Those who are saved and secure in Christ can still be “Lost” in the sense that they are failing to follow the Shepherd and thus find themselves in danger from both the enemy and the hostile environment around them. These we must also seek.
Must we not wait for the wayward believer to respond? Yes! But we must always seek that Holy Spirit-directed balance between making an extra effort to go after people and waiting for them to respond. When I am not certain exactly what should be done, I would rather error by doing too much rather than to later see that I did not do enough.
In Luke 15:4-7 Jesus talked about the value of one sheep. He first saw to it that the ninety-nine were safe, and then He went out after the one that was in peril. He had worked hard all day and deserved the respite that the nighttime normally provided. But He could not rest while one of His sheep was in danger. He cared not for his own comfort – He went out in the dark and cold, and would not stop until that one was once again safely with the flock.
If as servants of God we are looking for a comfortable life where our time is our own and our personal needs are a priority, we should not set out to plant churches. Shepherding the young church requires a willingness to renounce our own comfort and give ourselves for the benefit of the sheep. The faithful shepherd will do whatever needs to be done to bring in those that are lost.
If I would fully follow the Master and be fruitful in His work, I must be willing to forsake the comfort and warmth of the fold. My single focus must be bringing the lost to faith Christ and leading new believers back to following Him.
Keep this truth in the top of your “Toolbox.” Seeking lost sheep is the church planter’s primary job. The strength of the flock will largely be determined by the initiative and the dedication of the shepherd.