INTRODUCTION 

Our mission at OCBF is discipling the church to impact the world. The goal of the church is for everyone to be known, loved, valued, spiritually developed, and commissioned. Ministry was never meant to be carried around one person. It is a burden meant to be shared by the entire congregation. God’s vision for His Church is not built on spectatorship but participation. Not just pastors doing ministry, but people becoming ministers. Not just leaders carrying burdens, but the body carrying one another.

In Exodus 18, Moses was trying to carry the weight of ministry alone. From morning until evening, he listened to disputes, solved problems, and served the people one by one. But his father-in-law Jethro saw what Moses couldn’t see: this model was unsustainable. Not only would Moses wear out, but the people would grow frustrated waiting on him to do everything. Jethro’s counsel was simple but profound — select capable, God-fearing, trustworthy people, and appoint them to lead. This was not just about delegation. It was about empowering people to use their time, talents, and treasures to answer the problems that the people were encountering.

As we step into this new season as a church, the call is clear: If we want to go fast, one person can run. But if we want to go far, we must run together. This is not just our pastor’s vision — it is our assignment. We are being invited to move from attenders to contributors, from encouraged to entrusted, from served to sent.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. From Exodus 18, what warning do you see about one person doing all the work of ministry? How have you seen that play out in church?
  2. If every member of our church lived out this model, what would the impact be?
  3. What is your next step of obedience in helping this vision become reality?

RENEW YOUR MIND 

“Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.”

Exodus 18:21