Looking at Christ

On the one hand we need to be wary of the desire to strategise a life of ‘maximal effectiveness’ which is not in our power (as Christopher Ash cautions in Workers for the Harvest Field ). We simply do not know where we will be most effective. Gospel love and gospel ministry are often wonderfully unstrategic. God has regularly chosen the small, weak, foolish things to shame the big, strong, wise things and in the history of revival often chosen unexpected places as bridgeheads. In many ways it doesn’t matter where we concentrate our energies. There is gospel need everywhere. Often it will be right in front of us.  On the other hand, there is a clearly centripetal, outgoing, to-the-ends-of-the-earth dynamic to gospel mission (Matt. 24:14; 28:19; Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8). Jesus considered the global harvest (Matt. 9:37-38) and calls his disciples to, “Look at the fields” (John 4:35). There are clearly some places with particularly dire gospel need – unreached, excluded or ravaged by fals...

We all want to be concerned for the advance of the gospel, supporting gospel work, taking opportunities to share the word of life. All Christians are in gospel ministry . But there are also some who are specially approved and appointed for gospel work, those like the people Paul calls his ‘co-workers’ or ‘fellow workers’: Timothy has proved himself …in the work of the gospel (Phil. 2:22) Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent (Phil. 2:25) I ask you, my yokefellow, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers (Phil. 4:3) These ‘fellow workers’ are those who have devoted themselves to gospel work (giving it a large proportion of their time) and, crucially, they are those who are recognised by the churches for their hard work, courage, doctrinal soundness and competence in gospel ministry. These ' gospel workers ' are not doing...