It is graduation season. It is an anxious time for many as seasons of life change. It is also a critical time for those who minister.
I have told several people the past few weeks that, statistically speaking, our church’s most effective outreach (if you measure success by connecting people into a long-term discipleship relationship IN THE CHURCH) has traditionally been our hosting of baccalaureate services for two local high schools. Every year (for the last nine years or so) we have several hundred people come to the church for a one-hour program as I share a message of encouragement to students making the transition away from high school. Invariably, over the next 1-3 years, one or two of those families will connect with the church. When I ask them how they came to visit our church, they tell me that they came to a baccalaureate service and enjoyed it.
Why is this service to the community so valuable? I think it is because of Pivotal Moments.
In John 4, Jesus spoke to a woman of Samaria who was the “talk of the town.” She had been married five times and now was living with another man. The gossip circles were so busy about her…that she didn’t even come to the well until the most brutal part of the day…long after all the other women had come and gone. She’d rather face the heat than their judgmental looks and deafening whispers. One day, she came and met Jesus who was waiting. He connected the story of God’s love and man’s purpose to her circumstances at a pivotal moment. She was ready. She wasn’t expecting a sermon or even to converse with anyone…much less someone claiming to have access to living water and who knew her reputation but talked with her anyway. Pivotal Moments.
Or there was the time when Pastor Timothy was frustrated and wrestling with his faith. Ministry had seemed to take its toll and his spiritual mentor…the Apostle Paul…spoke into his circumstance (2 Timothy 1) by way of a letter, encouraging him to remember who he was, where he had come from, and how God had called him. Pivotal Moments.
These two examples (along with dozens more if time permitted) remind us that God prepares hearts through pivotal moments to receive truth. Wise disciples are on the lookout for these moments because they are solid gold.
LAST STORY: Yesterday, I was running on a tight schedule between meetings and stopped by a shop to drop off a couple items. I didn’t have time to be there but was very intentional to fit the drop by in. While inside, a woman asked me to follow her to the back of the shop. When I did, she shared with me that her mom (a Christian) died six months ago and that she was vexed in her heart on how the resurrection worked. She didn’t want to talk out front because her co-workers were not believers. Pivotal Moments. So, we spent 10 minutes talking about what the Scriptures teach about death, the Resurrection, and why we can have hope of reunion if we follow Christ. [I had never met this woman before…but I recognized a pivotal moment had presented itself].
Friend, if you are a follower of Christ, He created you for such moments as these. This woman assumed that I must be spiritual since I was wearing a shirt with the church name. (I’m not sure I ever told her I was the pastor). Parents and students at baccalaureate services are tender for God’s wisdom at this transition in seasons. That woman whose husband has distanced himself, the man who is struggling to put food on the table, and the young lady in the hospital are all tender…and God placed you there to speak truth at a Pivotal Moment. Don’t miss it. Make the most of the opportunity. Pray for the opportunity. Serve during the opportunity. Represent Him.
Grace and Peace.
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