The Great Commission is intended to be a movement, not a ministry. One way to distinguish between the two is to think of ministry as a campfire and the movement as a wild fire.
MINISTRY Camp Fire |
MOVEMENT Wild Fire |
Contained. Stays within a defined structure. |
Not contained. Spreads everywhere. |
Predictable. Common, just like the ones before. You know what to expect. No surprises. You're comfortably warmed and enjoyably entertained. You leave the same person you were when you arrived. |
Not predictable. Uncommon, unlike anything before. You never know what to expect. Surprising. You're uncomfortably provoked and personally called upon. Your life is changed forever. You emerge a different person. |
Not challenging. Does not require new strategies. Involves doing what you did before. Repetition is a virtue. Ritual is cherished. People chafe if things change. |
Challenging. Requires new strategies. Involves new ideas and different paradigms. Requires “outside the box” thinking. People are too involved to chafe. |
Highly managed. Constant oversight of all details. Micromanaged. |
Not highly managed. Unaware of all the details, only that something big is happening everywhere. |
Controlled. Barriers in place to make sure it is not driven out of control by the wind. |
Not controlled. Wind driven. At the mercy of its force and direction. John 3:8 |
Small in scope. Affects relatively few—those in one affinity group. |
Large in scope. Affects everyone— those in every affinity group. |
Stationary. Affects those who go to it. You can choose to skip it. |
Not stationary. Affects those it goes to. You can't skip it. |
Externally fed. Needs a constant fuel source brought in from outside (offering). |
Self-feeding. Does not require outside source of fuel to keep it going (not money dependent). |
Scheduled. At one location, at a specific time, on a given day of the week. A calendared event. |
Not scheduled. Occurs anywhere, anytime, on any day of the week. Occurs 24/7. |
Safe. Can be experienced from a safe distance. No risk. |
Dangerous. Flee or stay and fight. Involvement is risky, even life threatening... And exhilarating. |
Centralized. Not designed for unlimited growth. The bigger it gets, the more it threatens the existing structure. Either the structure has to change (very hard) or it needs to become smaller (much easier). Bonfires (mega churches) are just large camp fires, not true movements. |
Decentralized: Potential for unlimited growth. The structure does not threaten or determine the size because there isn't any. It thrives without structure and adapts to its surrounding. |
A horizontal event. Humans get the credit. |
A vertical event. An awe-inspiring event. Clear act of God. |
A measured event. Those present are counted. Attendees are numbered. Totals are recorded and reported. These define success. |
An unmeasured event. Precise numbers are hard to determine. There are just continual reports of expansion. |
Entirely visible. Everyone is always aware of its location and size. |
Not completely visible. No one is sure of its exact location and size. There is awareness that it is growing and spreading. |
A fun event. Light-hearted. Devoted to good time, laughter, story- telling, games and snacks (S’mores). |
A memorable event. Life-changing. No time for games and snacks. Dominated by testimonies of heroism, and awe inspiring experiences. |
Restful. A place to eat, relax and visit with friends. |
Exhausting. Food and rest are means to a greater end. The event creates new bonds—life long relationships. |
Clean. Neat, tidy and well defined. |
Messy. Hectic, chaotic and only generally defined. |
Passively experienced. Come and enjoy. Nothing more required. Leaders do the work. Just be a spectator. Leave it to the professionals. |
Actively experienced. On the job training and immediate involvement. Too big for professionals to handle alone. You're needed NOW! Spectating not an option. |
Localized. Does not naturally spread. Better to just start more elsewhere. |
Spreads spontaneously. Grows naturally. No need to plan for expansion. It’s part of its DNA. |
Humanly controlled. Need a permit to begin. Permission required from authorities. Limited by human decisions. |
Not humanly controlled. Begins without permission. Not limited by human authorities. Divinely ordained. |
Culturally defined. One people group gathered around one event. |
Not culturally defined. Many people groups affected by the same event. |
Unchanging. Same event in the past, present and future. Same format year after year, decade after decade. |
Unique. One of a kind event. Unlike anything ever experienced. Rare, uncommon. |
Facility dependent. Dependent upon available structure. No structure; no event. |
Not facility dependent. Not dependent on available structures. Forms around available resources. |
Non-urgent. Nothing alarming or distressing. Everything is peaceful. Lives are not at stake. |
Urgent! Everything is startling and challenging. Nothing is peaceful. Lives are at stake. |
Casual. A place to unwind, decompress, and chill. Entertaining. |
Immersive. An event requiring energy, creativity, and involvement. Captivating. |
Not life threatening. No one dies at a campfire. It doesn't require that kind of sacrifice. |
Life threatening. People die all the time. |