I was all set to go. Phone? Check. Purse? Check. Keys? Check.

Getting into my car, I put the key in the ignition and… nothing. The radio came on, the dashboard flickered and clicked, but no go. My car was refusing to start. Looking at my roommate Jill, she shrugged and said, “Well, guess we’re taking mine today.”

Everyone groans and nods in sympathy whenever you mention you’ve got car troubles. Why? Because at the back of our minds, we always know “car troubles” are synonymous with “expensive mechanic bills.” Fortunately in my case, it turned out to be dead battery that needed a jump.

Even better was this wonderful thing known as Hyundai Roadside Assistance, which thanks to my 10-year warranty, means sending someone free of charge to give me a jump start and get my car going. “Drive around for 30 minutes and it’ll charge back up,” the man told me. I was on the road again.

Now I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know a whole lot about cars, but this incident today got me thinking about our walk as Christians, and how we need to keep moving.

Don’t waste the jump

We’ve all been there before. Gotten into slumps, felt like nothing is happening, let our walk with God get stagnant. But then something happens, a prayer meeting, a particular preacher’s message and it’s like a spark is re-ignited in us and we’re raring to go. But what happens after the “spiritual high” goes away? Will you keep going? Or will you revert to old ways?

I think the secret to keeping that spark is to pass it on. That’s why the Bible encourages us to continually share our faith at all times. Jesus himself said “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) Why? Because  just like I needed to keep moving my car to let the battery keep the charge, we need to share the gospel with others because it solidifies our faith and reminds us of our purpose here on earth.

Know when to make a change

The battery might be okay for now, but I’ll probably have to replace it pretty soon. And it’s better to replace it and keep going, then to have it die completely another time and be stranded without a new battery.

Sometimes when we’re in our missional communities, we need to be mindful of what’s going on and also constantly re-evaluating to see what works and what doesn’t. If you’ve been trying to engage in spiritual conversations and it hasn’t been resulting in much success, maybe you need to pray and ask God for new ideas on how to reach the people in you community.

If something doesn’t work, remember that it’s not that you’re doing something wrong. Just like the Body of Christ is made up of different parts, people are also very different. If always getting coffee is getting old, change it up! Go to the park, watch a movie and discuss it after… you might end up finding new ways to engage others about God and life.

Keep going

We’re interesting people. If our cars don’t work or a computer starts malfunctioning, we’ll do whatever it takes to get it working again. But if reaching out to someone doesn’t seem to be doing anything, we’re relatively quick to give up.

But here’s the thing, just as a car is absolutely no use if the battery doesn’t work, we too are no use if we say we’re Christian but never share the gospel or try to reach out to those around us. Continuing to pray and reach out to people doesn’t just help us grow in our faith, it also teaches us to persevere no matter how futile a situation seems.

Galatians 6:9 says “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” So let’s take that to heart. Don’t waste the spark that is in you by keeping it to yourself. Step out, keep sharing, and have faith that in due time, you will see the influence you’ve had for God’s kingdom and it will all be worthwhile.