One of the clearest strategies for our mission is seen when Jesus sent out “The 72” in Luke 10. Here is an abbreviated outline of what I shared during our Launch the Lifeboats day on those verses.

verse 1.  Jesus said “Go!”

verse 5.  Jesus called them to ‘enter a house.’  The word for ‘house’ is ‘oikos’ meaning ‘household’.  A household was not just the nuclear family but also uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, as well as servants.  It could also include business partners and associates.    It was a social network.  We have ‘households’ today.  We hear a lot about social networks.  The only difference is that they are not always defined as geographically as they once were.

So Jesus says, when you enter a social network (a community) you are to be a blessing.  You are to pray peace.  Be salt & light.  Be a breath of fresh air.

verse 6   Look for a ‘Person of Peace.’  Look for someone who gives you a welcome.

verse 7  If you find a person of peace, stay in that household.  Stay with that social network.  If you do not find a person of peace, move on (v 10-11).  The word stay implies the building of long-term, intentional relationships.

verse 9  Meet every need you can in kingdom power & proclaim the kingdom

Not surprisingly, Paul adopts this strategy on his missionary journeys.  I give several examples in this recent message:

[audio http://www.burlingtonbaptist.org.uk/podcasting/301011am.mp3]

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The slides for this message are posted at the end of this blog.

So what social network (community) has God called you to ‘enter’ and who is your person of peace there?  These are very important questions for us to explore.

On October 2nd we had a special church conference entitled: Launch the Lifeboats. You can find more information at www.burlingtonbaptist.org.uk/launchthelifeboats. More of my blogs associated with this can also be found here