Large-scale vs. individual evangelism and discipleship

Note: This month I’m posting a series of devotional thoughts from Acts. Many of these are reposts, some are new. I’m “working out the kinks” for submission to a compilation of short, pastoral writings in Acts to be published later this year. If you have suggestions, corrections, or comments, please let me know!

“Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.” Acts 8:30-31 ESV

Phillip was having great impact as a powerful miracle-working evangelist in the previously un-evangelized city of Samaria. Huge crowds were listening in rapt attention as he preached the Gospel; he was casting demons out left and right; he prayed for physically broken people and they were healed; ultimately, he accomplished large-scale ministry that changed the whole vibe of the city (8:6-7).

But immediately after that great outpouring, Phillip was supernaturally directed into “a desert place” (8:26). He didn’t know why he was being led into the desert, but he did know it was the will of the Lord, so he obediently went.

Then he found out why he was there. An Ethiopian court official was in his chariot returning to his country from worshipping God in Jerusalem.  And he was doing a little road-trip reading from the book of Isaiah. Responding to the prompting of the Spirit, Phillip ran up beside the chariot, asked the man if he understood what he was reading, and was invited into the chariot where he explained the words of the prophet in light of the good news of Jesus. The official was saved and baptized on the spot!

We can often feel like salvation or discipleship is most successful when many people all respond at once. While this is not an invalid model, it isn’t the whole picture, either. Phillip was called to mass evangelism and discipleship in one season, and the very next day he was led into the desert to wait for one soul.

The man Phillip encountered didn’t need a big worship service, spectacular supernatural signs, or information from a book. He needed life-on-life discipleship. He needed someone to sit with him and personally tell him about the good news. He needed someone to “guide him”. Tradition tells us that this man went home and spread the Gospel throughout his country. Because of an unlikely one-on-one conversation, a life—and a nation—was changed forever.

How often do we wish we were in Samaria impacting the masses, when God has brought us to the desert so we can encounter one person? While I’m certain that the Lord delights in using all kinds of methods, including mass evangelism, to bring people to Him, I’ve noticed that He cares enough about individuals to order our lives in such a way that we can journey with them face-to-face, and not just from up front.

If you feel like you are in an “ineffective” or desert season, look for the person God may have planned for your path to cross with; and then, get in their chariot with them!