Did you know you can have better than 20/20 vision? Try 1:28 vision.

Colossians 1:28
Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

If you asked the apostle Paul what he was all about, I think that he would point to Colossians 1:28. In many ways, Colossians 1:28 could serve as Paul's mission statement. In a simple statement, Paul summarizes his vision--both the end-goal of his ministry and the way that he would accomplish that goal.

Paul's goal couldn't be simpler: Present everyone mature in Christ. His vision was to grow people from newborn baby Christians to functioning, self-feeding, committed followers of Christ. Or, to put it another way, Paul's aim in life was to make disciples. Paul was simply following through on the mission statement that Jesus gave to all Christians when He called us to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20).

Making disciples is a simple goal with radical implications. Ministry success is about growing people, not programs. Programs and events are just tools to connect people to truth. And if success is about people not programs, people need take priority in my schedule. I cannot become so busy "doing ministry" that I have no time to get together with living, breathing people.

Colossians 1:28 not only states the goal of Paul's ministry, it also states the way Paul did ministry: He proclaimed the truth about Christ to others. To put it simply, Paul believed that people moved to maturity in Christ as a result of hearing the Word of God.

Speaking the truth of Christ to others isn't a calling unique to the apostle Paul. This isn't just the ministry of pastors and teachers. Rather, we all get to be involved in sharing God's Word (Ephesians 4:15). God calls Christians, not just paid ministry staff, to share truth with others. God has given us the job of prayerfully speaking His Word and then the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to give new life and grow our spiritual life.

Truth-speaking isn't rocket science; it is as simple as sitting down with another person, reading the Bible together, and praying that God would change you both by His truth. We don't fail to make disciples because the equation for making a disciple is complicated. We fail to make disciples because our lives become complicated with good, fine, important stuff that makes us too busy to care about the guy sitting next to us in church on Sunday.

What can you do this week to get involved in this 1:28 vision? Or maybe I should ask: What you need to stop doing this week in order to make people a priority in your life? Maybe you don't need to add anything to your schedule, you just need to add a new perspective to every interaction you have with others. Maybe you need to get together with that new person from church to read the Bible and pray together. Perhaps you need to share a truth God taught you at church with your coworker in the next cubicle.

No matter what 1:28 vision looks like in each of our lives, if we all had clearer vision, the world would be a much different place.

Mark Vance is the Music & Ministries Pastor at Saylorville Baptist Church in Des Moines, Iowa.