THREE GOALS OF MINISTRY

 

Saturday, September 27, 2025

 

THREE GOALS OF MINISTRY

 

2Timothy 4:2 

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

 

          Some of my followers are so accustomed to these daily devotionals that they assume something dreadful has happened if I should miss one or two but life has plenty of interruptions and I apologize for any that are tardy or absent. Having said that, I want you to know that I have three goals for my devotionals. They are as follows.

 

          To Evangelize! The Great Commission has but one challenging verb and that is to “make disciples.” To reach the lost and to win souls for Christ is the foundational goal of preaching. If your Christianity is not outreaching then it has forgotten its mission.

 

          To Educate! When Paul said, “I would not have you to be ignorant,” he was addressing believers who needed instruction. Delivering pure doctrine and correcting false notions is a major part of pastoral ministry because it promotes both evangelism and encouragement.

 

          To Encourage! Because believers are strangers and pilgrims in a world that is now foreign to them, we are admonished to encourage one another. The words of Fanny Crosby’s old hymn Rescue the Perishing confirm these three goals.

 

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,

snatch them in pity from sin and the grave;

weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen,

tell them of Jesus the mighty to save.

 

Down in the human heart, crushed by the tempter,

feelings lie buried that grace can restore;

touched by a loving heart, wakened by kindness,

cords that are broken will vibrate once more. [Refrain]

 

Refrain:

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying;

Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.

 

Lord, mold my life around these three goals. AMEN