Why Not?

In 1943 Lockheed Martin, an aerospace company, selected its most creative engineers—and told them to think “outside the box.” Unencumbered by bureaucracy, this team of engineers pushed boundaries, tried new things, and got better and faster results.

Lockheed was working on weapons. But could the church not use the same strategy to forge weapons of righteousness? (See 2 Corinthians 6:7; 10:3-4.)

Small teams could be asked to spearhead innovative, grass-roots projects with the potential for transformative results. Such teams could examine tough situations and look for opportunities. They could imagine potential solutions and ask, “Why not?”

These teams would want to build on the aspirations, insights and skills of local people. They could mobilize the power and support of nearby churches and ministries. They would draw on existing community strengths to build strong, sustainable endeavors for the future.

The teams would attempt new ventures in the spirit of the late Ralph Winter, founder of the U.S. Center for World Missions, who said, “Risks are not to be evaluated in terms of the probability of success but in terms of the value of the goal.”

With permission to try new things, teams like this--including ones deployed by Barnabas Initiatives--can pursue new ventures on mission with Christ Jesus. Initial efforts may be small. But as momentum builds, these innovative endeavors would have the power to lift the whole Church.