I often get words of wisdom from Seth Godin’s daily marketing blogs. A persistent theme of his is that we shouldn’t wait to be “chosen.” He wrote on September 6, 2025:
If you’re waiting to get picked by a famous college or a big company or the music industry, you might end up waiting a very long time. Of course, that’s what schooling taught you to do. The lessons run deep.
What’s the solution? Seth continues:
You can build your own system.
…There are plenty of examples of committed students who took a gap year (or two or six) and built something that mattered.
Non-profit leaders who refuse to succumb to galas or mass appeal can build projects of significance with a surprisingly small base of supporters.
…You’re probably not going to end up with a million followers by adhering to the rules of the algorithm. But that’s okay, because you don’t need a million followers to make a difference. – Seth Godin, September 6, 2025
Jesus built “projects of significance with a surprisingly small base of supporters.” He invested heavily in 12, and there were 120 in the Upper Room in Acts 1. And they started a Spirit-empowered movement that changed the world.
Indeed, “…you don’t need a million followers to make a difference.”
You don’t need to be a pastor, on church staff, or a missionary with a Christian organization, either. You do need to engage where you are. In Seth’s words, “Build your own system.”
A young man called me once and said he wanted to be a Navigator. The conversation went like this:
- Caller: “How can I become Navigator staff?”
- Bob: “What ministry are you doing now? Whom are you investing in?”
- Caller: “I’m not doing any ministry now.”
- Bob: “If you’re not doing anything now, why would that change if you became a Navigator?”
As always, we do what we can, where we are, with what we have.
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. (John 15.16, ESV)