Last week, Pam and I had a great time visiting with The Navigators’ North American region team in the Dominican Republic. We also enjoyed the tropical heat as a welcome break from Colorado’s springtime snow!

It is a gift to travel and witness the work of the Gospel all around the world. In each location, we see lives being changed by Jesus through the work of faithful disciplemakers.

Throughout the history of God’s people, believers have been tempted to leave the advancement of His Kingdom to ministry professionals, and vocational ministry folks have been tempted to be too tight gripped on the ministry!  Yet from the beginning, Jesus called and equipped people right in the flow of their everyday life:

“Jesus called out to them, ‘Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!’” (Mark 1:17, NLV).

All along the way, Jesus used everyday people in all kinds of vocations as ambassadors of His kingdom (see Luke 5:24-25; 8:38-39; 19:8-9).

So what do “everyday people” look like? They are those who have a heart for people where they live, work, and play as well as a vision for the nations. They are men and women whose character reflects the fruit of the Spirit, and are:

• Walking with God
• Living among the lost
• Knowing and living from the Scriptures
• Engaging in community
• Reproducing generations

After Jesus’ resurrection, it was not paid professionals who built the foundations of His church. It was everyday people who brought the kingdom of God to their own neighborhoods. There was no two-tiered ministry system.

I love what the local Jewish leaders observed in them:

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13, NIV).

This is the way God envisioned it: everyday people as conduits of His gospel, making disciples who will, in turn, raise up more followers of Jesus, right where they live, work, and play.

What areas of influence do you see in your life as an “everyday person” that you feel uniquely situated to be an ambassador of the Kingdom?