Start with One

John's Gospel opens with a beautiful thread of discovery—ordinary people meeting Jesus.

In one of these early encounters, Andrew hears the words of John and follows Jesus. His first instinct? To find his brother Simon and share the news: “We have found the Messiah.” (John 1:41, NIV)

The statement in this verse seems simple, but it is so powerful. We know that Peter became one of Jesus' chosen twelve. But it started with Andrew, who met Jesus and immediately told Simon Peter. That's all it takes. That's how a movement starts.

My beloved husband, Lieb, passed away in 2003 at the age of 54. Many people loved him, and we all felt a great loss. And it was hard to understand why the Lord would take him so young. There was still so much work for him to do.

At his memorial service, a friend named Jury came to the front of the church. He told us how Lieb had shared his faith with him and how he had accepted Christ. Jury then shared the Gospel with Harry. Harry came to the front. He explained how he shared the Gospel with Cecil and called Cecil to the front. And on and on it went until the line of people filled the front of the church and started snaking down the aisle.

I was astounded. As I looked at the line of people, I realized I only knew the first six people. Lieb and I had moved to Russia as missionaries not long after he met Jury. We lived and worked there until Lieb got sick. The movement of evangelism and discipleship continued without Lieb. All it took was for each new believer to share Christ with just one other person.

Start with one. Over and over again. That's how we build a movement.

Application Questions:

• Who is one person in your life you can share Jesus with this week?
• How can you trust God to continue the work of discipleship even when you are not there?

Prayer:

"Lord, thank You for showing me the power of starting with just one person. Give me courage to take small steps of obedience, knowing that You can use them to build a movement. Teach me to trust You to continue the work, even when I am not there. Let my words and actions point others to Jesus and help me follow through in faithfulness each day. Amen."

Elspeth Liebenberg
South Africa
Leader Impact