8. The Gatekeeper Principle

One of the aspects of a Person of Peace is that they’re someone through whom your relational witness can multiply. When they positively introduce you to their friends, they authenticate you and what you carry to their network of relationships.

In the New Testament we see this again and again.

• The woman at the well encountered Jesus, then ran back to tell her whole town. “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I ever did'" (John 4:39, NIV). This was the first non-Jewish community to be transformed by the gospel.
• Lydia believed the gospel and invited her whole household into faith, so that “she and the members of her household were baptized” (Acts 16:15, NIV), thereby forming the first church in Europe.
• Cornelius is the gatekeeper to a whole company of soldiers and associated community. “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message” (Acts 10:44, NIV).
• The Ethiopian Eunuch was so impacted by his experience with Philip that, according to tradition, he went home and founded the church in Ethiopia, the first church in Africa. “The eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing" (Acts 8:39, NIV).
• After the demoniac has at least 2,000 demons cast out of him, Jesus sends him back into his fearful and otherwise closed community. “So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed” (Mark 5:20, NIV). When Jesus and the disciples next cross to that region, there was great openness and much Kingdom advance (the healings at the end of Mark 7, and then the feeding of the 4,000 at the start of Mark 8).

This is what we call the gatekeeper principle. A Person of Peace often holds influence within a network - family, coworkers, classmate, a sports team, or a neighborhood. When they encounter Jesus, they naturally share what’s happening to them and draw others into the story.

As a disciple of Jesus on mission, you don’t have to be connected to everyone. You just need to recognize who God is working through, invest into them, and allow them to be the relational pathway for the gospel to spread.

This reminds us not to underestimate what God can do through one open heart. What might seem like a small step, such as a conversation, a shared story, or an invitation, can ripple out further than we could imagine.

So as you invest in your Person of Peace, avoid the temptation to try to extract them from their existing contexts and relationships. Instead, ask God, “Who else might they reach? How can that person impact others in their communities?” God may be planting seeds that will grow in places you’ve never been. We help them incarnate the gospel into their existing community and context.

Relational mission isn’t about doing everything yourself. It’s about recognizing who God is using and joining Him in the multiplication. Your Person of Peace may well become a gateway to their family, friends, and community. Through one key relationship, God can impact many lives.

The Person of Peace Principal

Hear the story of the first time we realized that we had a Person of Peace - in our eldest child’s elementary school!

Your Next Steps

1. Think about how the gatekeeper principle has worked in your life. Who has opened up networks of relationships to you?
2. Are you praying regularly for your Person of Peace’s wider network? Ask God to use that person to draw others to Himself.
3. Is God opening a door to others through your Person of Peace? Ask Him what He wants you to do with that open door.

Prayer

God, thank You for multiplying Your Kingdom through relationships. Please help me to be aware of how You want to reach a whole network of relationships through my Person of Peace. Give me eyes of faith to see what you’re up to, and to figure out how I can join in helpfully! Help me be bold to step into the opportunities You open before me. Amen.

More Resources for You!

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