1 Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. 2And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 6 If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. 8 Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near. Luke 10:1-11
When the Lord Jesus Christ planned to extend His message of the Kingdom to the towns around Him on the way to Jerusalem, He organized 70 (some manuscripts say 72) workers and gave them specific instructions on how to spread the Good News. Some of the features and principles that the Lord gives here can be instructive for us in giving the gospel. What are some things Jesus told His disciples to do? He told them to pray (v. 2), to go in pairs (v. 1), to greet people warmly (v. 5), and to spend time with receptive people (vv. 6-7). He told them to accept hospitality and serve people in homes where their message was received (vv. 8-9). He told them to proclaim the gospel message (v. 9b), but to leave homes/people where the message was not received (vv. 10-11). Further, Jesus told them not to get distracted (v. 4) and not to be self-dependent (v. 7).
Jesus had an organizational plan when He began to spread His message of the Kingdom. Even today, these are important principles to follow when giving the gospel. We also understand from this passage and from passages like 1 Corinthians 14 where the Apostle Paul gives instruction for order in the church that planning and organization are crucial to any gospel/discipleship endeavor.
God provided a perfectly-timed resource for organizational planning as we begin the ministry of Gospel Rocks Ranch. Dr. Larry Moyer, founder and CEO of EvanTell and his wife, Tammy came to the ranch earlier this month to do some deer hunting (https:// http://www.evantell.org/). On a Friday night in early January, Larry spent two hours telling us things he wished he had known when he started EvanTell nearly fifty years ago. He spoke of things like the three stages of organizational development: 1. Credibility 2. Operational 3. Governance. He told us about the importance of having two boards, a working board and an advisory board. He encouraged and inspired us over the course of the next two hours while we wait on the Lord for the ministry of Gospel Rocks Ranch. God provided just the right people at the right time to help us in areas where we desperately needed it.
We also very much need your prayers as we prepare to go forward with GRR. Here are some prayer items:
· Please continue to pray that we would find favor with the IRS as they continue to review our application for 501C3 (tax exempt) status.
· We need discernment with regard to 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year building plans · Most importantly, please continue to pray that God will prepare the hearts of boys and girls to hear and respond to the gospel, and that He would then send them to Gospel Rocks Ranch to hear and respond.
In His Abundant Grace,
Steve Hager
Discipleship Coordinator
Gospel Rocks Ranch 