As we consider the anointing for mobilizing, we must also understand how this applies to numbers. John the Baptist had an anointing to call and prepare all of Judea for the Lord. However, most do not start with such an ability to call great numbers. It is likely that John’s ministry was not that popular at first either. Usually we must learn to be faithful in the little before we are given greater authority.
The largest churches, ministries, and movements in the world all began with about a dozen people gathering together, most of the time for prayer. If we have an anointing to mobilize, it will likely begin with a very small group. Depending upon how faithful we are with the small group will likely determine how much more authority the Lord will give to us, which will likely be given in increments. I say that this is “likely” because the Lord is sovereign, and He does not always do it this way, but He usually does.
At any given time, there are some who have an anointing for mobilizing small groups, some for mobilizing hundreds, and then some for thousands, or even more. If we would recognize this about ourselves and others, it would save many from a lot of frustration and mistakes that scatter people instead of mobilizing them. If God has called you to be a pastor of three hundred, then you can use all kinds of promotions to build a larger congregation, but things will happen and you will eventually fall right back to three hundred. The reverse is also true. If you have been called to lead five thousand, regardless of church splits, or other problems that may temporarily shrink your congregation, it will come back to five thousand.
Therefore, if we have been called to such leadership, we need to understand what the Lord has called us to do and be content there, determining to do the best we can where we have been placed. If we are faithful with little, at the proper time He will give us more authority. We want to be sure He is promoting us and we are not just promoting ourselves. Gaining influence that God has not called us to have will always bring problems that any wise person should want to avoid at all costs. The issue is obedience. It is much better to be a brilliant and effective lieutenant than an incompetent general.
One of our missions is to host conferences, and we have learned how this applies for us. Most of our conferences are devoted to equipping people in specific ministries or gifts of the Spirit. We know how to promote conferences and have been able to gather many thousands before, but we found that in the equipping conferences, smaller is better. Our goal is not just to get a lot of people together, but to see everyone who comes changed, impacted, and sent out much more powerful workers and messengers of Christ than when they came. However, with some of our conferences, especially those that are devoted to promoting interchange in the body of Christ and a general heart for missions and evangelism, bigger is better.
My main point in addressing these issues here is so that we can consider what has been several tragic mistakes by Christian leadership. One is mobilizing God’s people over and over for purposes that were not ordained by God. The second is mobilizing for a right cause, but doing the mobilizing in a wrong spirit. The third is seeing the mobilizing as the goal rather than using the mobilizing to begin training, equipping, and deploying in order to actually engage in tearing down enemy strongholds. All of these have led to a lot of disillusionment, and overall discouragement, which means the loss of courage, a most basic fuel for any successful army.
Gathering large groups of people is not hard with good promotional techniques. It is for this reason that I long ago ceased to be impressed by the size of churches, missions, or ministries. The real issue is the fruit. You can have a large group of high maintenance, low impact people who are not accomplishing nearly as much as a much smaller group. Our goal for mobilizing must be to raise up an effective force for the gospel and the preaching of the kingdom of God.
We need to follow those who are effectively preparing, equipping, and leading those they have gathered. There are some large groups and churches that are doing this, but they are rare. In Acts 19, we see that the people were in confusion because they did not know the reason why they had gathered. Gathering without a clear purpose usually results in the confusion of the people.
It has been estimated that the majority of Christians in the U.S. are no longer in a local church fellowship. This is a tragedy, but before we just start seeking to get them back into vital church relationships, maybe we need to take a look at our church. If over half of the Christians no longer find a home in church, could it be that over half of the churches have somehow departed from the basic mandate of the church that Christ gave to it? There can be many reasons why Christians leave the fellowship of the local church, almost none of which are valid, but to a large extent we must also accept that much of the church has left the leadership of Christ, and the people know it.
Gathering God’s people is important, but it is also a great responsibility. We must always keep in mind that these are His sons and daughters. If they are gathering to us, it is not because of us, and if we are all they get, they will soon leave. Gathering is but the first step. The church was never intended to just be a big sheep pen where the people are gathered and have food thrown to them a couple of times a week. Feeding God’s people is a great purpose, but leading them involves much more than just preaching at them. The true New Testament ministry equips His people. This is why the future church will begin to look more and more like the army it is called to be. A great clarity of purpose is coming, and with it great encouragement.
One reason why I am focusing on the subject of mobilizing this year is because a great mobilizing of God’s people is coming. For more than twenty years I have seen in many visions even small country churches so overflowing with people that speakers had to be set up outside for the crowds that could not get in. I saw it happening throughout the countryside. In the cities, churches were renting stadiums to hold the crowds. At the same time, there was a home group movement of hundreds of thousands of small groups that were all helping to actually equip these great multitudes, find their callings and gifts of the Spirit, and to fit into their place in His body.
These are not just crowds and numbers; they are individuals and sons and daughters of the King Himself. Managing something of this magnitude is beyond any church organization or any human ability. The Lord will be the Head of His body, and He actually upholds the universe with His word. He can do this. However, now is the time to prepare for this, which we do by learning to abide in Him.
The foolish want to wait until the revival breaks out to get ready. The wise never waste their time. The wise also know that if something happens too fast or too easily, it is because it is insignificant. If this delays, it is because the Lord is giving us more time, because we need it.