While working with a small group of missionaries in a sparsely popu lated country, I found the group was having great organizational problems. My first question to them was, "For what reason does your mission exist?" Although quite iso lated from the mainstream of the world's masses, one responded, "Our objective is the evangeliza tion of the whole world for Jesus Christ." That seemed unrealistic considering just what their logisti cal situation was. Such far-reaching goals could justify almost any type of objectives right or wrong. This is why we stress things which are more specific. Only in this manner will we be able to reach objectives. In establishing objectives, espe cially for church, we should only measure that which is measurable. The Lord is sovereign and works as He chooses. He sends us out to bear testimony. In actuality we have very little to say about who re sponds to the Gospel which we preach. We simply tell others what we know and have experienced. Do you think it is realistic for a church to say, "We want 100 peo ple saved from sin and born into the family of Cod this year"? No, because such would attempt to measure the immeasurable. What we should do is to estab lish the area we are to reach geo graphically. Our plan will be to get into each one of the homes, be friend the people, and share with them the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word as well as printed form. This is all measurable and achievable. The results are left to the divine providence of the Holy Spirit. This He controls. T. L. Scranton points out, "In a balanced organization working toward a common objec- Page 29
definitive and precise? Estimates range as high as 95% of those who have no idea why they are living and maintain no particular goals in life. As you will agree, there is a vast difference between Cod send ing a man and a person running down the way unsent. The Lord calls a man to Himself in holy soli tude. He puts in his heart His own gracious purposes in a commis sioning that is designed to cariy out His eternal purposes. For this reason each of us has a very sol emn responsibility to accomplish what the Saviour has given us to achieve. Have you ever stopped to ask, "What is the reason for our church's existence?" There is no substitute for a clearly defined and carefully articulated purpose. Great leaders of history have known the value of setting such objectives. Many of those who have places of impor tance are strong natural leaders. While such people may have their weaknesses and drawbacks, yet they do have one very great strength. This is that they almost always know what their goals and objectives are. This purposefulness and commitment is a tremendous ly motivating factor. Some years ago I served with a new church on the East coast. Be ing a young work there were many needs and it required sacrifice on the part of everyone. The struggle somehow seemed to unify us in a common goal. In fact, after we moved into that long sought-after building there seemed to be a real emotional slump. This is not an infrequent occurrence. As long as objectives can be articulated spe cifically and logically, people can be motivated.
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