Just One More - By Adam Brewer

Words by Adam Brewer
April 25, 2023

 
            Six years ago, sitting beside Lindsay while watching Hacksaw Ridge, I never imagined that a simple phrase uttered in the movie would become such an impactful challenge to me and many others in our Glory Fellowship Church family. The movie’s primary character, Desmond Doss, is a pacifist serving as a medic during World War II. After a brutal attack on the ridge that left many of his friends dead, Doss hears the cries of other wounded soldiers. One by one, Doss carries the soldiers to the ridge’s edge and painstakingly lowers them to safety. Physically exhausted, Doss repeatedly returns to the battlefield praying, “Lord, help me get one more.”
            As the movie ended, I couldn’t get Doss’s simple prayer out of my head. His words echoed, “one more, one more, one more.” God’s Spirit prompted me to reflect on Jesus’s sacrificial death which rescued me from God’s wrath against my sin. I knew that even if I had been the only one, he still would have come courageously and lovingly to Calvary’s battlefield. I then considered the mission of God given to local churches in making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20). Though Christians can’t save, we are equipped to carry the spiritually dead, emotionally drained, relationally damaged, and physically desperate to the One who redeems and restores. As the faces of family members, friends, community leaders, and church attenders scrolled through my mind, my heart was stirred and I began to pray, “Lord, give me and Glory Fellowship a compelling desire to reach Just One More.”
I shared this brief but impactful emphasis with our church family during “Christmas at the Preacher’s Home” a few weeks later. For many it stuck, not simply as a cute catchphrase, but as a meaningful reminder of Jesus’ mission. We started praying that Christ would save and help us make a disciple of Just One More, and he continues to be faithful in answering that prayer. The beauty of this emphasis is two-fold: 1) it places value on every individual created in God’s image who because of sin needs to be recreated in the image of Christ, 2) it encompasses the entire population because we’re always asking to reach one more until all the nations of the world have heard the Good News of Jesus.
Six years later, many of you are new to the Glory Fellowship family and might be hearing this story for the first time. Others are being reminded of this impactful emphasis in fresh ways. How can we practically live out the Just One More emphasis?

1) Earnestly pray daily for someone who is not a disciple of Jesus.
Since disciple-making is a supernatural process, prayer is essential. God has placed us in families, at workplaces, and on sports’ teams with people who have not tasted the goodness of Jesus. God has sovereignly put you there to be salt and light in a decaying and dark spiritual situation. Call daily the names of these individuals who need Jesus. Plead with Christ to send his Spirit to convict them of sin and bring salvation to his or her soul. Pray also for those in whom you are investing and discipling. If you’re in a Care Group or D-Group, pray intentionally for others’ growth in godliness.
 
2) Examine your own growth in Christ.
The fuel and fire for disciple-making come from God’s Word and God’s Spirit. We will never possess a passion for God’s mission of reaching Just One More if we are not daily walking with Jesus. Apathy for Jesus’s mission oozes from a heart that is bored with Jesus. Examine yourself regularly to see if there are any sinful patterns or misplaced priorities quenching the life-giving Spirit of God in your life. Someone who isn’t being transformed into the image of Christ will have no desire to see that transformation in others.
 
3) Engage in disciple-making relationships.
Disciple-making is contagious. Therefore, seek out meaningful relationships with others who are growing in their faith and want to replicate their Christian life in others. Unlearning sin and learning holiness is a community project. Find someone who is further down the road of spiritual maturity and engage with them. Watch how he lovingly relates to others. See how she prioritizes her time so that the day doesn’t slip away without spending time in prayer and Bible reading. Walk alongside these individuals as they serve others and share the Gospel. Then, seek out others who you can invest in and model Christian living. A few opportunities available for disciple-making engagement in the life of Glory Fellowship include Care Groups and D-Groups (Disciple-making groups).
 
4) Enjoy the journey of God’s transforming work in your life and others.
We celebrate what is important. Though life and disciple-making have frustrations, we can enjoy the sweet fruit amidst the frustration. Stop to thank Christ for the work he is doing in your life and in others. When sinful patterns are broken, tell others and rejoice. When someone in your small group eagerly shares about the first Gospel conversation he or she had with an unbeliever at the gym or baseball field, make a big deal about it. Enjoy the daily rhythms of growing in grace and godliness, and you will find renewed motivation to keep reaching out and discipling Just One More.


From the Pastor's Heart.

Adam Brewer