For Baptists and many other evangelical denominations or networks, the most important spiritual experience every person can have is to receive Jesus the Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.
Soaring congregations affirm this and focus on it. They are motivated by the eternal mandate of the Great Commission. They also affirm the second half of this commission in Matthew 28:20 which says, “teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.”
They further embrace Mark 12:30–31: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. … Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Together these verses establish a mandate to fulfill the Great Commission in the spirit of the Great Commandment.
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Strong congregations believe this too. However, their evangelistic passion may cause them to overemphasize the conversion of nonbelievers to eternal life through Jesus Christ. They may spend less time helping people become fully devoted followers of Christ.
It is not either/or. It is both/and. Soaring congregations typically focus on the full journey of Christians. Thus, this is the first of 13 pivots congregations must make to be more Soaring than Strong.
An illustration
In my book “Soaring with Faith: The Difference Maker for Congregations,” I share the following illustration:
“Years ago, I was part of an ongoing multiracial and multiethnic gathering of ministers. In one session, a white minister posed a question to a Black pastor. ‘Pastor, what do you believe is the key difference between white Baptists and Black Baptists?’
“The pastor pondered the questions a few moments and then said, ‘White Baptists emphasize being saved, and Black Baptists focus on walking with Jesus.’” (Bullard, “Soaring with Faith,” p. 74)
The point of this illustration is not to suggest a racial difference. It is a commitment, conviction and practice difference. Soaring congregations emphasize the full spiritual spectrum of walking with Jesus. Strong congregations can fall into an unintentional trap. They may overemphasize conversion and de-emphasize the intentional journey to grow as Christian disciples.
A second trap is that Strong congregations, in their positive spiritual passion to grow their congregation, can become myopic about the gifts of the Spirit, placing more emphasis on everyone having the gift of evangelism and underemphasizing other gifts God is inspiring in His disciples.
Recognizing spiritual gifts
A Soaring congregation focuses on the evangelism gift as well as helping people understand other gifts God may be calling them to express.
On a Strong to Soaring continuum, congregations can plot where they are, develop a consensus understanding and then pray for God’s guidance for the spiritual and strategic actions of their congregation. They can ask questions such as, “Lord, what is Your calling upon our congregation? Where do we need to focus our capacities for the work of Your Kingdom?”
This appropriately suggests there is not a right and wrong place to be at various steps along the continuum between Soaring and Strong. There is only God’s place for your congregation.
EDITOR’S NOTE — George Bullard spent five decades in Baptist congregational and denominational ministry. His ministry roles included three churches, three associations, three state conventions and one national entity. He began as a columnist for TAB Media Group’s publication The Baptist Paper in 2022. Bullard now serves as a strategic thinking mentor for Christian leaders through his ForthTelling Innovation ministry. TAB Media Group published his new book “Soaring with Faith: The Difference Maker for Congregations” — available on Amazon.
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