Never Devalue the Value of One

Never Devalue the Value of One

For Philip, the vision must have been confusing. The disciples were enjoying enormous success in their evangelistic efforts in Jerusalem. The church was growing, programs were being developed, and outreach was conducted in other population centers in the region. So effective was the ministry that even today, the church  in Jerusalem is studied and dissected by students of church growth. Things were happening, people were getting saved, and the Holy Spirit was moving. Yet amid all this success, Philip received a vision to go into the solitary desert of the southern wilderness of Israel. The Greek is concise: "Arise and go south…it is a desert."  In other words, leave the place where ministry is growing and go to the place witihout people.

Phillip was told to leave the place where they were enjoying great success in their evangelistic work to go to a place entirely inappropriate for effective ministry.^[i] It did not make sense. The church in Jerusalem was exploding, and Philip was told to leave and go into the wilderness void of anyone. When Philip arrived in the region, he must have questioned his vision, for there was no caravan of people and no tribe of bedouins traveling through to greet him. Instead, all he found was one individual from a foreign country. But as Philip saw the man, the Holy Spirit made it clear that Philip was to approach this lone man.

We know the results. The individual (whom we are not even given his name) was an official of the queen of Ethiopia and was reading the prophecies of Isaiah 53. In response to his questions, Philip shared the gospel implications of the prophecies of Isaiah. As a result, the official embraced the message. No program was used, no dynamic service was employed, just a simple message. Church tradition suggests this person became the first evangelist in Africa and may have been responsible for establishing or expanding the Coptic church in Africa.^[ii]  

In rural ministry, we often feel like Philip in the wilderness. Why should we go to a small, insignificant church in a tiny, forgotten town in the middle of nowhere? Is that not a waste of our time, energy, and resources? Indeed, from a career perspective, it makes no sense. Is it not better to become part of a growing urban ministry where our skills and education can be better served? However, God does not place value on numbers. He places value on individuals.

Early in his ministry, Jesus was gaining popularity and recognition in the urban regions of Judea. Instead of capitalizing on this popularity, he left the region to go to a small village called Sychar in the undesirable region of Samaria. Here he had a divine appointment with a troubled woman. For Jesus, this woman was more important than the growth of his popularity (John 4:1-6). This is the nature of God's grace and the nature of the gospel. Christ did not just come to save the masses but to deliver individuals. One lost sheep is more valuable than the 99 sheep in the fold (Matthew 18:10-14). Christ came to die for each person.

            We need to take the gospel to rural (and urban) communities because of the infinite value God places upon each person. We may only reach one person with the gospel in our whole ministry. However, for that one person, our ministry has eternal significance. In God’s redemptive program, the one individual we reach with the gospel is just as important as the masses reached at a Billy Graham crusade. In developing a theology of evangelism for rural ministry, at the center must be the recognition that the value of one individual in the sight of God is worth a lifetime of ministry. If all we reach is one person for Christ, our ministry is still thriving. In God's economy, the value of one is of infinite importance. If we devalue the importance of reaching one person with the gospel, we ultimately devalue Christ's work on the cross. The ultimate motivation of evangelism is not "how many" but "who." The salvation of one person is still worthy of the celebration of heaven (Luke 15:10). If the angels break out in glorious praise when one person embraces the gospel, how much more should we rejoice and value each person who comes to Christ because of our ministry?  We can never devalue the value God places on each person who hears and responds to the gospel.

^[i] David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles: The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company: 2009), p. 293.

^[ii] D. A. Hubbard, “Ethiopian Eunuch,” ed. D. R. W. Wood et al., New Bible Dictionary (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 346.