Many Christians struggle with sharing their faith, feeling stuck between being too pushy or too silent. In this plan, Scott Savage explores how Jesus lived on mission, announcing God’s kingdom through both words and actions. Learn why both matter, how to earn the right to be heard in today’s culture, and discover your starting point for living out your kingdom mission daily with confidence and grace.
Scott Savage
Day 1
Scriptures: Mark 1:14-15, Matthew 6:9-10
Can I share a confession?
For most of my life, I’ve struggled to share my faith with words. In high school, when my teammate asked about my ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ bracelet, I replied, ‘None of the sinful things that you do.’ That summer, while working at an ice cream shop with zero context or compassion, I told my coworkers they were going to hell. Awkward!
The judgmental teenager who shared those words went on to be a pastor and author! God had a sense of humor, and He surely humbled me since those harsh moments.
If you’ve ever felt nervous about sharing your faith, you’re in good company. Maybe you’ve been on the receiving end of someone’s clumsy attempt to share the gospel with you. If that experience left a bad taste in your mouth, I want to apologize on behalf of the church. Too often, followers of Jesus teach the truth without grace.
In contrast to my failed attempts, Jesus gave us a clear example of how to live on mission, and it’s beautifully simple. After John the Baptist was arrested, Jesus began his public ministry with a clear announcement in Mark 1:15 CSB: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the gospel.”
This wasn’t just Jesus’ opening line – this was his primary message. Jesus started talking about the Kingdom of God, and He didn’t stop. He spoke more about the kingdom than he did about any other subject in the Gospels.
So what exactly is the Kingdom of God?
When Jesus taught us to pray “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” He was describing God’s kingdom as the place where God’s will is done, just like it is in heaven.
Notice what Jesus said in Mark 1:15: “The kingdom of God has come near.” The Greek word here doesn’t mean “close in proximity,” like your neighbor’s house is near yours. It means “available” or “accessible.” Jesus wasn’t announcing that God’s kingdom was about to arrive – He was announcing that God’s kingdom was now accessible to humanity through Him.
If God’s kingdom is accessible, this is the heart of our mission as followers of Jesus: to announce that God’s kingdom is near and accessible. As sailors use true north to navigate through stormy oceans, the good news of God’s kingdom is our true north, orienting us and sharing it with the world. But as we’ll discover tomorrow, Jesus didn’t just announce this message with words – He demonstrated it in ways that got people’s attention and changed their lives forever.
In the next reading for this plan, I’ll share why many of us struggle to live on mission with Jesus and feel like we’re not experiencing God’s purpose.
Day 2
Scriptures: Mark 1:21-28, James 2:14-17
You’ve probably heard the quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel at all times; if necessary, use words.”
It sounds spiritual, doesn’t it? There’s just one problem – St. Francis never said it.There’s no record of him ever saying or writing those words. The closest thing he said to his fellow friars was that their deeds must match their preaching.
But there’s a bigger problem with this quote: it’s impossible. You need words to explain the gospel. People put their faith in Jesus through hearing and understanding the message. Jesus Himself announced it verbally – He spoke aloud.
When Jesus spoke, he had a problem that many preachers would love to have: people couldn’t ignore him.
In Mark 1, we read that Jesus went to the synagogue and began teaching. But verse 27 tells us something fascinating: “They were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, ‘What is this? A new teaching with authority!” (CSB)
The people were amazed not just by what Jesus said, but by what Jesus did. It is crucial to understand that Jesus announced the Kingdom of God both verbally and visually.
The heart behind this misquoted wisdom from Francis is important. It’s not enough to just talk about the Kingdom of God. Jesus taught with words, but He also demonstrated His authority through His actions. After teaching in the synagogue, He healed Peter’s mother-in-law, and then Mark tells us “the whole city was gathered together at the door” as Jesus ministered to people’s practical needs.
This creates a tension that many of us would rather avoid. Which is more important – telling people about Jesus or meeting their needs? Should we focus on evangelism or service?
The answer is yes. Both.
We cannot separate the two. Many of us are more comfortable living our faith before others without having to mention Jesus. But Jesus’ example shows us we must do both, even if verbal sharing scares us. Maintaining this tension becomes our true north for our kingdom mission – neither drifting toward words alone, nor actions alone.
Consider marriage. If I tell my wife “I love you,” but she never experiences that love through my actions, she’ll doubt my sincerity. If I only show love through actions and never verbally express it, eventually she’ll wonder how I feel. Like a compass needs both magnetic direction and a clear display, love requires both words and actions to stay on course.
We live in a culture where people are skeptical about faith and the church. Many have been hurt by Christians or have negative associations with organized religion. Service and practical love earn us the right and the trust to share verbally. We have to break down barriers to be heard. People need to see the Kingdom of God demonstrated, not just described. Jesus healed people and told them to believe. He fed hungry crowds and taught them about spiritual hunger. He met both practical and spiritual needs.
Tomorrow, we’ll explore why this balanced approach is critical for reaching people in our current cultural moment. But today, ask yourself: “Am I better at the words or the actions? How might God be calling me to grow in the area where I’m weaker?”
Day 3
Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 5:16-20, 1 Peter 3:15-16
In a sports competition, the visiting team often feels uncomfortable playing in front of a hostile crowd and struggles with less-than-ideal accommodations.
Many places today are now described as “post-Christian cultures,” where followers of Jesus are like the visiting team. While not all people are necessarily anti-Christian, Christianity is no longer the default faith. People are skeptical about theology and the church. Many have been hurt by Christians or have watched high-profile failures of Christian leaders.
When we’re the visiting team in a post-Christian culture, we need a reliable compass to stay oriented toward our mission. This is why Jesus’ model of combining verbal and visual announcements of God’s kingdom is crucial for our time.
While working at Starbucks after seminary, I learned the power of this “AND” approach. I had been employed there for about six months, always working the Saturday night closing shift. This meant I was at work until nearly midnight and then had to report to my church job early on Sunday morning. Eventually, this schedule exhausted me, and I began to lose hope about whether my witness was making any difference.
I had been showing up to work consistently, trying to love my coworkers well, serving them, and answering questions when they asked about church and my part-time pastor job. But I wasn’t seeing any apparent results.
However, one Sunday evening, five of my coworkers showed up at church! Seeing them in the congregation as I spoke was surreal. The conversations at work the following week were completely different! They had seen me in my element and shared that they now saw the mindset that gave context to my actions.
When I eventually left that job to join our church staff full-time, the send-off my coworkers gave me was unlike anything I had seen before. It was because I had spent months verbally and visually declaring something they had been longing to hear – that they were valued, loved, and that there was hope for their lives.
This is why we can’t choose between serving people and sharing the gospel with them. In our current cultural moment, service earns us the right and trust to share verbally. We must break down the barriers that skepticism and past hurts have created.
Throughout his letters, we see how the Apostle Paul cared for people’s practical needs, demonstrated Christ’s love through actions, and preached the Gospel with bold words.
Peter gives us the perfect balance in his first letter: Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15 NIV)
Peter assumes that our lives will be so different, so marked by hope and love, that people will ask questions. Our actions create curiosity that opens doors for conversations. Like a sailor who uses true north to read maps and ride out storms, we must always know how to answer those who have questions about why we live with hope.
The question isn’t whether evangelism or service is more important. The question is: Are we living in such a way that people want to know why we’re different?
Tomorrow, we’ll get practical about how to start living this balanced approach, beginning with an honest assessment of where you naturally lean.
Day 4
Scriptures: Matthew 28:18-20, Ephesians 2:10
If you have put your faith in Jesus, you are a new creation. But fear, insecurity, and feelings of inadequacy have caused many new creations to resist stepping into their callings.
Perhaps you’ve forgotten how much God saved you from. Maybe you haven’t yet discovered all that God has saved you for. The truth is, you’re a missionary, and you could be disguised today as a banker, a grocery store worker, or a retiree.
So, how do you begin living in the tension of verbal and visual announcements of God’s kingdom?
First, determine where you naturally lean.
Imagine a line with a dot at each end. One dot is labeled “Verbal,” and at the other end is a second dot, which is labeled “Visual.” Where would you place yourself between those two dots? This isn’t a test you can pass or fail – it’s simply about honest self-reflection.
Most of us naturally lean one way or the other. I lean heavily toward the visual side because I failed at the verbal approaches so many times in my teens and twenties, as I mentioned on day one. I have a lot of company in this. Many of us prefer the visual side because it feels safer and easier.
But here’s what I want you to consider: if someone were going to reach your neighbors, coworkers, or friends with the gospel using only your natural strengths, would those people ever come to know who Jesus is or what He came to do for them? Or would they only see kindness and good deeds without understanding why you’re different?
Second, step into discomfort.
God indeed made you with sure gifts and inclinations for a reason. Yet, we know that our spiritual growth happens when we’re willing to stretch beyond our comfort zones.
If you are heavily verbal in your witness, ask yourself: When was the last time you did something that visually demonstrated God’s kingdom was real and near? When did you serve someone with no expectation of return? When did you meet a practical need just because you could?
If you lean heavily visual (like me), ask yourself: When was the last time you had a conversation about Jesus with someone who doesn’t share your beliefs? Can you even remember the last time?
Third, remember that God has positioned you exactly where you are for a reason.
Your neighbors, coworkers, classmates, and friends need to hear and see the good news of God’s kingdom. So, here’s my final question. What’s your next step in following your true north of kingdom mission? I’m praying that you take your next step as part of God’s mission today!