Recently I began a new phase of ministry in a bi-vocational capacity. For 21 years, my ministry consisted of serving on staff at a local church. This type of ministry is all I have known. In February 2011, I shifted my ministry focus to consist of writing, speaking and training students, parents and church leaders. In making that transition, I took a job in law enforcement at a local county jail to provide an income stream to fund this type of ministry. It has been an eye-opening experience. As a result, I have come to realize ministry can take place anywhere God has planted a believer. I have had some real God moments as I have had the opportunity to minister to people who have had their freedom taken from them. One encounter in particular really shed some light on one of the great missional verses in the Bible.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus shared a parable in which He outlined the mission of those who would follow Him. Jesus said in Matthew 25:34-40, “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited Me.’ Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see You hungry and feed You? Or thirsty and give You something to drink? Or a stranger and show You hospitality? Or naked and give You clothing? When did we ever see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to Me!’ As I studied these verses in the past, I always thought it was strange that Jesus included visiting someone in prison in this list of things in which believers should be engaged. I never really understood this part of that verse until now.

The authors of the Bible used literary forms in their writings. I do not think this in any way affects the truth quality of the text. These literary forms help readers see several things as they read Scripture. First, these forms allow us to see the personal side of the God we serve. All the other world religions describe a god who is impersonal and critical. Their followers do not believe it possible to have a relationship with this god. These literary forms give us a glimpse of the personal nature of God and His desire to have a relationship with us. Also, the literary forms the authors chose communicate in a style their audience could grasp. The audience would be very familiar with the language and references made by the authors. For example, Jesus spoke in parables to the people He taught. They understood the format and subject matter of those narratives. This does not affect or change the truth of the text. These forms aid in the application of text without compromising the truth of the message. It is up to us to know the particular literary form used as we interpret the text, then we must help our youth apply the truth of God’s Word to their daily lives.

We were created for relationships. God created mankind with a need to connect through relationships. Throughout Scripture, we see this concept of God imparting wisdom and truth through the context of relationships. The Bible is a relational book. It chronicles our relationship with God, our relationships with each other and our relationship with the world. We are hard-wired to connect relationally. That is why these verses are so profound. In this parable, Jesus tells the story of the “least of these” who have been forgotten relationally–the stranger longing for a home, the naked longing to be clothed, the sick longing to be cared for, the prisoner longing for human contact.

Every week I see inmates who have been incarcerated and seem to be cut off from society. Some get visitors every week, but some have been there for almost a year with no one to visit them. These visits have a direct connection to the mood and disposition of the inmate. Those who have visits look forward to them with great anticipation. Some have lost their visits on occasion for disciplinary reasons. In those cases, the inmates are devastated. The need for human contact is one of the most basic needs we have as a people. Jesus knew this well. He wanted the people who heard this parable to understand the most basic of human responses is that we meet this very basic need of human contact. Jesus was telling His disciples that meeting the needs of these so called least in society would be the basis or mission of the church that would follow Him. This type of missional focus of meeting the needs of people as if we were meeting the needs of Jesus Himself would be the very force that would propel the early church into a world-changing force.

I think the model of the church in Acts should be the model of the church today. Our society today is similar to the times in which the disciples found themselves. As they continued to meet, pray and observe the Feast of Pentecost, something extraordinary happened. The promised Holy Spirit descended on this band of 120 men and women who were in agreement in heart and mind. In that empowered moment, everything suddenly became clear to them. In a flash, they realized the real mission of Jesus was not to establish a government, but to transform the hearts and minds of people. It was not to solve society’s problems from the top down, but from the bottom up just as He did when He was among them. He healed, ministered, fed, taught and loved individuals with real needs. These people loved Him in return. They had seen His transforming mission in action, but they had been too self-centered and self-absorbed in their own personal kingdom building to recognize it. The power of prayer and the Holy Spirit changed all that.

On the Day of Pentecost, their confusion turned to conviction. They burst from the room and began explaining the message and meaning of Jesus in the languages of the foreigners visiting Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. A crowd of thousands gathered in amazement, asking, “What can this mean?” (Acts 2:12).

Can’t you see Peter, the most vocal of the bunch, standing boldly before the crowd? Only weeks before he had been the opposite of bold—afraid to identify himself with Jesus when the Romans arrested his master. On this day, he spoke with an enlightened heart and mind, in the power of God’s Spirit, unashamedly proclaiming: “What you see this morning was predicted centuries ago by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God said, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people'” (Acts 2:16-17).

For 10 days, Peter and the other followers of Jesus had been bathed in prayer before Peter went on to preach a convicting sermon about a new kingdom—a transformational kingdom movement of God ushered in by prayer and the Holy Spirit—and 3,000 people were baptized into what became known as the body of Christ—His church. In striking contrast to the religious leaders and people of that day, these new believers didn’t just assemble behind closed doors and keep their religion to themselves. They lived out their newfound relationship with Christ through the power of God’s Spirit. Rather than talking about Jesus, they behaved as He did. Rather than being religious in a temple, they were relevant to their society. It is recorded that “a deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. All the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshipped together in the temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the good will of the people. Each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved” (Acts 2:43-47).

This transformational kingdom movement swept throughout Jerusalem and turned the current religion of that day on its ear. These bands of Christ followers proclaimed, “pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means we must care for the orphans and widows in their troubles and refuse to let the world corrupt us” (James 1:27). That was in striking contrast to what the Jewish religious leaders had taught. Rather than erecting buildings and creating an institution of this new religion, these Christ followers gathered in homes where they prayed in agreement and in the power of the Holy Spirit engaged their community, the surrounding countryside and the known world with a compassion for those in need as dod their Lord and Savior Himself. Their lives so reflected Christ that they were known as Christians or “little Christs.” Engaging the community around them with a lived-out gospel in the power of God actually transformed people’s lives and house churches were a natural consequence. This transformational movement of Jesus swept the world. I believe this can happen today if we are truly seeking to help the lost world around us experience this type of transformation. I believe the best way to do that is through the model of the early church found in Acts.

So how are you meeting the needs of the least of these in your community, school, home or church? Take some time this week to find those in your community whose needs are not being met and be on mission for Christ. Get out there and transform your world.

For more information about PowerHouse Youth Ministry or Randy Brown visit PowerHouseYouth.us.