Invite People Into a Journey, Not Just a Relationship

We often define the Christian life as a relationship. It’s a vital part of our theology and our language. We need a vertical relationship with God and horizontal relationships with others (ref., John 22:37-40; 1 John 1:3).

That’s absolutely true, but the Christian life is much more than that, and I believe we’ve inhibited our outreach and discipleship by communicating our faith only in relational terms (and through purely relational ministries).

In a January 2020 Christian Standard article, Don Wilson, said when he asks people, especially men, to make a decision to become Christ followers, “I ask them if they would like to begin an adventure with Jesus, rather than asking if they want a relationship with him.” (Wilson retired in 2017 as founding and senior pastor of Christ’s Church of the Valley, a multisite church in the Phoenix, Arizona, area, and he now co-leads Accelerate Group, a nonprofit organization created to encourage and support pastors and their wives.)

When I came across this sentence, I momentarily forgot I was supposed to be editing Don’s article. I read the sentence several times and then typed it into my notes program. It was like I just found a lost piece of a jigsaw puzzle.

Following Jesus is a journey we go on with Jesus. We get to experience the relationship as we travel along with him on a wild adventure.

New believers need to know this from the beginning. We need to change our language and the way we teach them about what being a Christian is all about.

Think about it. What did Jesus say to people when he first called them to be his disciples? “Come have a relationship with me?” No. He said, “Come, follow me.” He invited them into a journey with him toward a specific destination. He would make them into fishers of men. He would turn followers into people sent on a mission. He would transform them into leaders of his church. Quite the adventure!

It all happened in relationship, but it was about much more than that.

Relationship, fellowship, community—these things are the environment into which Christians are reborn and in which they learn, mature, transform, serve, lead, and share their faith with others. It’s the setting for the sojourn, the atmosphere for the adventure, the ecosystem for the expedition.

I’m changing the way I communicate the good news and discipleship. “Join me on an adventure with Jesus! You’ll never be the same.”