My thoughts on Bruchko are probably not surprising to you. The imagery between the ministry of Olson and the ministry of Jesus are eerily similar. Christian missionaries at the time were intrusive on native people and did everything but turn them on to a faith in God and Jesus Christ. Bruchko took a very Jesus-like approach to ministry. He lived amongst the people instead of pointing and telling them they were wrong. There were times when he even adopted their customs. Olson earned the right to be heard with these native people. Like Jesus left his home, seated at the right hand of his Father in Heaven, Bruchko left his home to share the love of God with the people in this native town. Like Jesus, he lived amongst them and became not only a part of the community, but also a trusted and credible friend.
Young life operates in the same way; comprised of volunteer leaders who have a heart for sharing the love of God with high school and middle school kids, teams leave their comfortable work places or college campuses to become a fabric of whichever high school or middle school they are assigned to. These leaders sacrifice any extra money or time they have to become a familiar face in the community and hopefully the opportunity presents itself to share the gospel with a kid. The idea of descipleship is also consistent throughout the three comparative examples. Jesus followed God and only God. And he took the hand of his best friends and invited them to come along side him in following God. In turn, these friends bring more friends who bring more friends to follow Jesus, and so on.
This ripple effect is what makes Bruchko and Young Life and Jesus so effective.
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