Join the Team • Devotion #6: Epaphras
Dr. Randy T. Johnson
“Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.” Colossians 4:12
It was 1994. I had just finished teaching and was leaving for the day. I noticed one of my senior students sitting by himself. I checked in and found out he was feeling really down. He had recently dedicated his life to the Lord and wanted to be used by Him, but did not feel he had anything to offer. I asked what he loved to do. He replied with skateboarding. I suggested we try to find a way to use that. He did not think it was a good idea. I asked what would happen if I tried to reach that group with the Gospel. He replied, “They would not listen to you. You can’t relate. You don’t talk like them, dress like them. It wouldn’t work.” I smiled and asked who could reach them. A lightbulb went off.
In Colossians 4:12, Paul sends greetings from Epaphras to the Colossians, but he also makes an interesting observation about him. He says that Epaphras “is one of you.” Epaphras was a Colossian. He could relate to them. He understood their culture.
Colossians 1:7 makes an interesting point, “Just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf.” The Colossians heard the Gospel from Epaphras. It was not Paul who took the Good News to them. It was Epaphras. He reached his own neighborhood. He reached out to his people. Paul then came alongside him to minister further to them.
God can use anyone. It is often more about our availability than our ability. Each one of us has a group that we can better communicate with than others can. I am a city boy. It does not mean that I cannot talk to the rural community, but country people appreciate and understand country people. Hunters know hunting lingo. People who raise more than just a dog find common ground with others who also like to have horses, cows, pigs, ducks, chickens, and maybe even camels. Skateboarders get skateboarders.
You are needed. Please join the team. God’s design is not to have the Pastor be the only one who talks to others. It is about a team. Each one is to reach one. I love having several locations because it allows people to reach their community for the Lord. Who has God placed in your little world that you can reach out to?