Evangelism is not enough.

I'm all for evangelism. To me it's the number one job of the church and by the church, I don't mean the place we go on Sundays, I mean you and I, we're the church. The problem is that many of us view salvation as the end product when it's actually just the beginning. While there is an instantaneous transformation that occurs in us when we accept Christ, there is also another transformation that is just beginning at the point of salvation. That transformation is the transformation of you and I from immature baby Christian into fully devoted followers of Christ.

When I accepted Christ as my savior, I was the primary benefactor. I got eternal life, I got the power of the Holy Spirit, I got a new life. But if I mature into a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ, the people around me are the benefactors. Think about it for a minute. As I become more like Jesus Christ, I become a better husband and my wife benefits. As I become more like Jesus Christ, I become a better father and my kids benefit. As I become more like Jesus Christ, I become a employee, and my employer benefits. Every person I interact with benefits from my transformation into a fully devoted follower of Christ. Salvation is for me, becoming a fully devoted follower of Christ is for others.

What would happen to the United States if we could raise a generation of wild eyed crazy fanatics for Jesus Christ? I'll tell you what would happen. Our government would be better, our businesses would be better, our families would be better; every aspect of life in the US would be better.

This is one of the reasons I love what Source of Light is doing in East Africa. We are providing Bible study materials to help turn irreligious people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Right now we're working with about 25,000 kids. Within a couple of years, our goal is to increase that to 100,000 kids, that's 25,000 kids graduating from high school every year who are well on their way to becoming fully devoted followers. Just think of the potential impact that will have on the nation of Kenya in ten or fifteen years!

To learn more, go to www.soleastafrica.org.