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Recently a pastor of a large church that is committed to two different worship styles on Sunday said something like, “The Contemporary Service is not an experiment and the Traditional Service does not have an expiration date.” Sounds good, but, in fact, worship styles change. There will be a time when the world-class choir that supports the traditional service won’t be there any more.

But here’s a ministry that truly doesn’t have an expiration date: investing in people, bringing them to spiritual maturity and sending them out to do the same. Paul told Timothy:

The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2.2)

I know the ministry has no expiration date because I’ve seen people in action. At his 100th birthday party, Jim Downing introduced us to Diane Derby, a local news anchorperson. He had invited her to do Bible study with him when he was 99, and she said, “I’ve always believed, but I became a true believer on March 30, 2013.” Jim met with people regularly until his death at age 104 1/2. Someone told me recently that he has a recent picture of Jim sitting at a table with a guy–not surprising–but what is surprising is that the picture was made at 1:00 a.m.!

At the Key Men’s Invitational, that I’ve written about the past three days, Len, the man that I brought with me, said one of the highlights for him was seeing Max Barnett, age 82, meeting one-on-one with a young man.

I was at a memorial service a few years ago at a large church, and my Navigator hero, Skip Gray, was there. I connected him with one of the young staffers, a musician who is transitioning over to pastoral ministry. Skip was giving him some counsel on how to preach. A friend of mine observed that here is Skip Gray, in his late 80s, still pouring into people at every opportunity.

I’m “only” 72, but I’m still asking God for opportunities to meet with men, and June is actively investing in women, some local, some elsewhere, across the U.S. and in Africa! This is the ministry with no expiration date! And, it’s open to anyone. See Max Barnett’s comment in Wednesday’s blog, first bullet point!

We’ll close with a promise:

¹²  The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
¹³ planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.
¹⁴  They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green,
¹⁵ proclaiming, “The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.” (Psalm 92.12 – 15, NIV, emphasis mine)