Recognizing the Art of Relational Outreach
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Tom Green
Having recently retired from full-time ministry with Organic Outreach International, Pastor Tom Green serves OOI as a consultant who trains, mentors and coaches Outreach Influence Leaders throughout the world. He has his wife, Jill, have a heart for international ministry. They have spent many years ministering in Eastern Europe and India, including establishing Grace Mercy Children's home in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India.
I learned a lot from this previous outreach experience. It’s a joy to grow in the things of God, especially when it is a part of the great adventure of helping other people along in their journey toward Jesus.
It was because of my 45 years of home-building experience that I got the call from another pastor asking me to check out the construction project of a friend of his (I’ll call him Bill). The project seemed to have gone quite sour. I had never had this pastor ask for a favor in all the years I’d known him, so I knew it was important.
I texted Bill for his address and when he texted back it said, “A ray of hope.” As I got to his house, things were an obvious mess. In all my years of construction experience, I had never seen more inferior work. And now, with his house torn apart and Bill nearly out of funds, he was left in a terrible situation.
It had all started with some rot repair and a roof leak, but the person fixing things didn’t know what they were doing. Now with very little of his finances left, Bill commented that he could lose his home.
After delivering nothing but bad news, I drove away from Bill’s house knowing I wasn’t capable of rescuing him from his situation. The only help I had brought was to verify that this builder had messed up his house and to tell him, “Whatever you do, do not let this person return to work. He’s wrecking the structure.”
As a trainer for Organic Outreach International, I help believers, as well as churches and Christian organizations, make sure that they build relationships as a priority when doing outreach programs, events, or projects. It’s easy to be so engaged with the tasks and accomplishments of our projects or events themselves (and we should do a great job!) that we can fail to make the most important move toward reaching out – the art of building relationships along the way. I had fallen into this scenario.
"Had I missed the chance to tell him about Jesus? I couldn’t call back now and “preach” to him. Was there still a step that I could take?"
Had I gotten too distracted by the devastation to pour into a relationship along the way? I couldn’t rest with the depressing situation that this fellow was left with. And he had previously said I was his first “ray of hope” in some time. I didn’t feel like a ray of hope. But I have hope. I have walked with Jesus through just as hopeless of situations including my near-death accident a short few years ago. Had I missed the chance to tell him about Jesus? I couldn’t call back now and “preach” to him. Was there still a step that I could take?
After an intense time of seeking God about this situation, I realized that I had enough fresh insight that it gave me a good reason to call him back. I gave him suggestions on how this mess could be patched up enough and last long enough that he could recover emotionally, mentally, and financially, and then in a few years possibly pay someone to do things right.
Then I told him where I found my hope. I shared about my accident and how God has helped me all the way. I shared my conversion testimony and how I came to know this hope. He opened up and shared some of his greatest difficulties, but that this house mess may have topped them all. We prayed together. I had originally left Bill without much hope as I had focused on the project over the person. It took courage to call him back, but the hope that I’ve found in Jesus is too big of an element to bypass. I will continue to pray for Bill with the confidence that God is drawing him near and that this is all a part of his own journey toward Jesus. I am convinced that God will see him through.
It’s easy to miss the relational elements in much of what we do, but isn’t that the most important part? Especially when we desire to be reaching out to those who have not yet come to faith!
(A quick update: A team of men from Shoreline Church heard about this situation and within six months Bill’s house was fixed at a budget he could live with. He has shown great appreciation and I know he has greater knowledge and experience of God at work in his life than he has ever experienced before.)