I remember years ago, visiting a church in Muncie, IN. While I was there, a young lady approached me and she had a smile on her face and energy in her voice. She asked, “Are you Mark Pope?” I responded, “Yes.” And then the first thing that came out of her mouth was, “You led me to Christ several years ago at Camp Adventure!”

It was one of the great moments in my life to realize that I had impacted a young lady, and her commitment to Christ had stuck. During the conversation with her, I also realized that she was now a young mom raising her kids to know Jesus. Not only that, but she was deeply involved in that church that I was visiting. She was a significant leader in the youth group and in other areas of the church. Her leadership in the youth group was impacting lives of kids in the same way that she was impacted when she was led to Christ as a middle schooler. At that moment, I saw what could be described as a ripple effect — One person coming to Christ, becoming a disciple, and then their influence resulting in more people coming to Christ.

When I consider a life that creates a ripple effect, a few things come to mind:

1. Take every opportunity seriously.

Those moments, when I was in my 20s and working at that youth camp with middle schoolers, I am grateful that the leadership took that week seriously. I think it could have easily been something where we said, “Oh, it’s just a bunch of middle schoolers.” But it was a significant time and opportunity for ministry. I’m really grateful for the leaders who took their responsibility seriously and instilled in me and in all of the people working there the idea that this week could change lives and affect eternity.

2. We are all pieces of God’s puzzle.

That young lady, who came to Christ and is now raising her children to know Jesus and serving in many areas of the church, was influenced by my little piece of the puzzle when she was a middle school student.But God had arranged many, many, many people to impact her life. I was just a small part of a big team of people God was using to develop her into a mature Christian woman. After that middle school experience, she went home and engaged in a home church and that church offered her more and more discipleship and leadership opportunities. We can have a great ripple effect if we will just remember the concept of sowing seeds. We are not the only ones sowing seeds, but the seeds that we sow into different people can be significant in their overall spiritual journey.

3. Try new things.

I still remember the day I got invited to be a counselor at that middle school camp. I’m not sure I should have been invited to be a counselor; I didn’t have a lot of training, I was unsure about going, and it was actually one of the first leadership opportunities I had in my spiritual journey. I was not well-prepared. But somehow by God’s grace, I said yes to the opportunity. The whole experience was very, very new to me, and as I look back, even though I wasn’t well-equipped… God used me when I said yes to trying something new for him.

4. It can be difficult. 

That week, serving at that middle school camp, it was probably one of the more physically and emotionally difficult weeks that I had as a young Christian. We were responsible for a sizeable group of middle school students 24 hours a day. We had to deal with students who were still very immature; we had to deal with hot cabins at the camp with no air conditioning; we had to deal with kids being homesick, kids who didn’t want to be there, and kids who wanted to be there but had no leaning toward doing the things of God. It was not an enjoyable week from many perspectives, but by pressing through the hard things, we got to experience some of the more important things of God. Often times ministry is not easy but is significant.

5. Don’t forget the people who are closest to you.

I would venture to say that most of the potential for a ripple effect I have in my life may not be with the people I encounter for only a week or even just a day or in a brief encounter. I think the greatest opportunity for a ripple effect is with those who are closest to us. At my age, I am now seeing the results of all of the time that my wife and I have spent with our children. The hours and hours and hours that we would pray for them on a daily basis. I am happy to say that all of my children are leaning into Jesus and every one of them is leading among their peers. I think it’s the constant contact and intention living with our family members, our close friends, our neighbors and our work associates… I think those opportunities can have the greatest ripple effect because we can influence them, pray for them, and love them again and again and again and again. So in a world that sometimes emphasizes going out and meeting people spontaneously and sharing Christ, let’s not forget to consistently share Christ with those who are closest to us.

 Pastor Mark Pope is our Lead Pastor and founding pastor of The Vineyard. He is also the primary teacher on the weekends and along with the Executive Team oversees the staff.

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