He Must Increase
Written for my staff team at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada
I had the privilege of visiting the BGEA office in Charlotte last week. I’m deeply thankful for so many open doors for me to have meaningful conversations with our leadership.
It’s easy, within our Canadian context, to forget that we are part of something much larger — a global mission. There’s the Berlin Congress, Will Graham’s work in Gulfport, Florida, and Estonia; the record-setting festival in Ethiopia; millions reached each year through Internet Evangelism; crisis response and law enforcement appreciation through RRT; Hispanic ministry — and so much more.
We are part of the Global Enterprise of the Gospel.
Yet as I reflect on all this good work — the good work that BGEA is doing and the good work you are doing — I’ve been reminded of John the Baptist’s words when his ministry influence began to fade as Jesus stepped onto the scene.
It’s striking, even ironic: a group whose entire mission was to announce the Messiah’s arrival found themselves disheartened when the Messiah actually arrived — and began drawing their crowds.
John’s response was sharp and clear:
“He must increase, and I must decrease.”
It was never about John. He understood his role in the story of redemption. He didn’t get caught up in the ego of being the first prophet after 400 years of silence. He had one job: to announce the arrival. Once the Messiah arrived, John knew it was time to step aside.
Imagine how strange it would have been for John to keep preaching, “The Messiah is coming!” after Jesus was already there. His joy was made complete in finishing his mission.
One thing I’ve long appreciated about both Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is that we know who we are. We are not the church. We serve the church, and we proclaim the Gospel.
Whenever we forget that the bride and the bridegroom are the main attraction, things go sideways. How small our vision would be if all our evangelism efforts were simply to draw people into BGEA itself! Equally, if we proclaim the Gospel but fail to strengthen the church, we risk sending tender new believers into environments unprepared to receive and support them.
I was encouraged to hear story after story of Franklin Graham filtering his decisions through two guiding questions:
Will this advance the Gospel? Will this serve the church?
I’m asking these same questions of our ministry — and I invite you to join me.
The church must increase, and we must decrease.
