As we look at the world around us, those who live far away or near us, it should concern us that there are not many following Jesus. The results of the last census in Scotland were published recently and for the first time more than half of the population said they had ‘no religion’. Those that claimed any type of Christianity numbered less than 40% of Scotland’s population. How are we going to reach those around us if there is so little interest?

In order to reach the world around us with the good news of Jesus we need to make sure we are prepared.

“Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.” (Acts 16:1-3 NIV)

Although our preparation generally would not be as extreme as what Timothy needed to do we need to do what we can to effectively prepare ourselves to take the message of Jesus to those around us as well as into other parts of the world.

Most important would be to have a good knowledge of God’s word and to be convinced of the truth that is found in it. How can we tell others what we don’t know? We find that Timothy was someone who was known for his faith (2 Timothy 1:5). The only way to develop this kind of faith is being taught God’s word (Romans 10:17). Because of his faith, which led him to be active in his area, the Christians in the area spoke well of him. But where should we go?

“Paul and his companions travelled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” (Acts 16:6-10)

Paul and those with him were looking for a place they could go to tell others about Jesus. But doors kept being close as they tried entering one area and then another. Finally Paul had a vision and concluded that Macedonia was where they needed to go.

I’m not suggesting God is going to give us a vision as to the best place for us to go, but we need to look at where we can be effective. These may not necessarily be areas where we will see hundreds of people turning to Jesus – there may only be a few. As we look at where Paul went in Macedonia, it usually only began with a few becoming Christians. In Philippi there was a group of women and a jailor, yet these few grew into a great number of Christians in that city – we can read more about them in the letter Paul wrote to them and see how influential they had become.

As we prepare to go it is useful to learn about the area where we are going – or even our own area as we try to tell those around us about Jesus. Knowing the religious beliefs – if any – of those you are trying to reach will help us know better what we need to talk to them about. What is important is that we start from where we are and plant the pure seed of God’s word.

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.” (1 Corinthians 3:6)

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Readings for next week: Acts 13-17