If you’re looking for a 480% return on your investment, try blessing people.
Yeah?
Yes, really. I’m serious.
Blessers vs. Converters
In 2008, Mark Russell conducted a fascinating study on the efficacy of Business as Mission (BAM) teams in Thailand. He observed two distinct groups: the “blessers” and the “converters.”
The blessers believed their primary purpose was to be a blessing to those around them. They saw gospel conversations as a natural outflow of their good works. The converters, on the other hand, defined their purpose as evangelism first. They focused on having as many spiritual conversations as possible.
What was the result?
The blessers had an immensely greater social impact. By constantly blessing their communities, they earned trust and goodwill, paving the way for meaningful relationships.
The converters, however, struggled to make a positive impact and often found their intentions perceived negatively rather than as acts of love.
But here’s the real kicker: the blessers outperformed the converters in leading others to Christ by a staggering ratio of 48 to 1. Putting blessing before evangelism proved far more effective than focusing solely on conversion.
Called to Bless
The implications of this are huge.
Scripture says, “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” (Genesis 12:2)
God is a missionary God! He chose to reveal Himself to the world by entering into a marriage covenant with Israel and lavishing blessing on them as they lived out His ways. He called them to stand out from the surrounding nations. How would they stand out? Well, one way was that they would be unusually crazy about blessing everyone around them.
Now, for those who are feeling that they are not blessed, let me remind you that the Spirit of the Living God is in you. You are blessed!
In the Old Testament, God dwelled among the Israelites in the temple. He chose to meet them there in that central place.
In the New Testament, Jesus makes a way for the Holy Spirit to literally dwell in all believers. God decentralizes His temple and chooses to pour out the power of His Spirit on all people (1 Cor. 3:16, Acts 2:39, Romans 8:11). He makes a way for each of us to be a blessing, not only in the ways that we were always called to do (Job 29:12-17), but also in miraculous ways (1 Cor. 4:20).
Moreover, if you have the privilege of accessing this message through technology, you are undoubtedly blessed by global standards. An annual household income of more than $2,920 places you among the wealthier half of the world’s population.
You are called to bless! I am called to bless!
Evangelism and Social Responsibility
Now, blessing takes on many forms, and one of those forms is what we call “social responsibility.” (Isaiah 1:17, Deut. 24:17-22, Micah 6:8, etc).
If you’re not sure what to think about social responsibility, let me encourage you – you’re not the first to feel that way. A Lausanne occasional paper from 1982 convened to address this very issue. There was a growing divide in the body over evangelism versus social responsibility, and in short, the committee affirmed the biblical basis for both.
Furthermore, however, they went on to say that evangelism and social responsibility are most often intertwined and contingent upon one another. You could say that evangelism needs social responsibility, and social responsibility needs evangelism.
To put it another way, we cannot have faith without works or works without faith. We must have both. The bible gives us two clear examples for each. (James 2:17-18 describes faith without works, and Matthew 7:21-23 describes works without faith.)
Jesus also weaves these two together. He began His ministry by reading Isaiah 61:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)
