Bonus Points

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Last Updated on Thursday, 05 November 2009 21:11

small_tree_on_whiteThe fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
and he who wins souls is wise.

(Proverbs 11:30)

A totally unique system of allocating "bonus points" has been devised for The Challenge in recognition of the special labours of individual teams.  And to solicit useful, measurable data to aid future planning and provide feedback to a global Christian audience.

The very act of witnessing globally conjures up images and thoughts of the following challenges:

  • dealing with foreign languages and cultures
  • coming against ignorance and religious fear, even persecution
  • encoutering harsh physical conditions
  • accessing remote inland locations
  • arduous travelling conditions and distances
  • lack of basic infrastructure such as communications, health, respect for the law, etc
A system of points recognises some of these conditions and translates them into measures that provide incentives for participating teams.  So rather than be discouraged, teams are encouraged (hence the term "challenge") to embrace difficulties on their travels from a positive perspective.

The Main Thing

Before anyone draws incorrect conclusions about our bonus points incentives - and to avoid any theological confusion - we would like to make five points abundantly clear from the outset.  Let us put "bonus points" in their rightful place:

  1. it is pertinent to remember that the Lord Himself always gets all the glory: (Psalm 96:1-3; 97:12; 100:1-2; 103:1-3; 105:1-3).  The Challenge is not about earning "bonus points".  None of what we attempt through the Challenge is meant for our own glory, but for the extension of the Kingdom of God throughout this earth.  We alone are mere vessels (Psalm 115:1; 109:27)
  2. these bonus points have nothing to do with placing a higher emphasis or value on the "number" of souls saved over the "quality" of relationships forged with Christ.  The Challenge is not about striving for numerical success; it's about transforming individual lives by proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God.  Helping those who have fallen away, struggling in their own lives, or hurting and in need of a Saviour
  3. similarly, the effort of sowing seeds among the harvest field is just as vital and praiseworthy as harvesting (converting).  Whilst it is impossible to estimate the impact of any team's sowing efforts (and future returns from them) this work is no less valuable in our Lord's eyes (John 4:36-37), and an eternal credit for those who do.  No bonus points system can ever describe these worthwhile efforts; nor was it ever our attempt to do so
  4. it is the Lord who draws men unto Himself (John 6:44).  This is a supernatural miracle no less.  It is therefore not by our own ability, nor with our clever words and persuasive arguments, that we can rightfully claim any conversion as "our own" (1 Cor 2:4-5)
  5. when it's all done and dusted no bonus points, and hence no award on earth, can begin to compare with what the Lord has for those who serve Him wholeheartedly - regardless of whether a team "wins" an award here or not (Col 3:23-24; Jer 17:10)

Why have bonus points then?

The bonus points system attempts to recognise these sorts of factors and assigns a "premium" to the converts won in different situations.  Witnessing in, say, a remote village in Ecuador may be a totally different proposition to witnessing in downtown Bonn, Germany.

Bonus points have been positively used to emphasise and encourage desirable witnessing activities by participating teams, namely:

  • linking up with local churches so that new converts can be deliberately referred for further discipleship ("hit and run" evangelism is not the aim of the Challenge)

  • distributing bibles (in locals' languages) to both believers and unbelievers alike, to spread the Word of God among communities

  • the Great Commission tells us to baptise as well - so baptise the teams will be encouraged to do!

  • spending time on their busy travel itineraries to talk to churches, schools, public talks, etc, so that sowing also takes place (it's not all about reaping)

  • targeting smaller communities and centres (< 500,000 and ideally much smaller) rather than the bigger towns and cities, so that the Gospel has a chance to infiltrate across a wider geographical area of any given country

  • payback to the more disciplined teams for their ongoing video and text feedback to the world of their progress, via the official Challenge web site, so that we can all rejoice at the miracles performed daily

Purely Voluntary

In order to avoid unnecessary (and undesirable) focus on the pro's and con's of bonus points, we've recognised that it is each and every participating team's choice whether they wish to record and report their witnessing activities during The Challenge.  There is no compulsion or mandatory requirement to report your activities and efforts at all.  We want to make that crystal clear.

For those competitive and eager souls who would like to participate in the Awards of The Challenge, reporting your efforts and achievements is a necessary Awards requirement - but it's your choice.  Good on you if you do, as you will be contributing towards the planning and promotion of this and future events by your regular feedback, your detailed  reporting Smile

What do the points look like?

A bonus point table has been designed which sets out the main criteria followed by teams in the Challenge.

There is a worked example which displays the bonus points in operation in a typical witnessing scenario.

 

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