Article by Jason King, Director ATMI

Every person has an internal drive to leave their mark on this world and leave a lasting legacy.  God himself in His nature wants His name to be known and His glory to be shown.  Are we so different?  We are made in HIS image after all.  I have yet to meet anyone that likes to lose at anything!  We long for success and glory, however, unlike God our motives tend to be self-centered.

So how do we leave a lasting legacy in our ministry for the sake of the Kingdom of God?  The American model of success in ministry has heavily leaned towards building a kingdom around a singular man or a ministry.  The problem with this is that people focus on the ministry which in turn takes focus off the Minster, Jesus.  Building a lasting legacy is not done by elevating a person to stardom, nor is it accomplished by building a successful enterprise around a gifted person or successful ministry.  A lasting legacy can only be achieved by investing in one’s posterity – your sons and daughters.  The Bible says (Psalm 127:3-5) that children are a heritage FROM GOD!  The children we are blessed with (both naturally and spiritually) are given to us by God to steward.  They are HIS children!  The man that has many children is said to be blessed of God.  They are arrows in his hand with the purpose of God on their lives to be ambassadors for Him.  After all, God is seeking for us to produce godly offspring (Malachi 2:15).

As a father I am often asked, “Isn’t it a lot of work having so many kids?”  Do I really need to answer that question?!  Heck yes it’s a lot of work!  But the rewards are eternal and make it totally worth every second I invest in my children!  I feel the exact same way about those God has entrusted to me spiritually.  I believe there is absolutely nothing more worthy of my time then to invest in my spiritual sons.  I believe in discipling.  I believe in fathering.  I live and breathe 2 Timothy 2:2.  Preaching great sermons is good but the personal impact made by ministering to your spiritual sons is far more life-changing.  Jesus spent the majority of his time pouring himself into 12 hard-headed sons.  Think of the countless hours around the fire or the long walks between villages.  He spent tons of intimate time with them.  His sermons were great, his ministry unmatched, but the legacy he left behind was eternal.  He didn’t build a mega-ministry, he simply multiplied himself into others.  I guess when it’s all said and done would I rather be well known around the world and have a huge ministry and a vast audience or would I rather have many faithful sons that continue on building the Kingdom as ambassadors of the King?  I think the choice is obvious don’t you.