So, you heard a speech from David Platt on the urgency of missions. Perhaps you attended Cross Conference or Passion and were moved by the stories of past and present missionaries. Perhaps you came across a heartbreaking statistic about the number of deaths among an unreached ethnic group. Now you want to go to the ends of the earth for the sake of the Gospel. Wonderful!
I know this feeling. The way I often describe my story is that my eyes were opened to the loss of the world. And from that moment on, there was nothing more important in my life.
For me, the Lord used two experiences to draw me into the field. First, I was touched by the fact that millions of people in the Middle East had never heard the Gospel. Second, I was moved when I learned that Christians were leaving the region to escape the difficulties, persecution, stability and better opportunities offered by the West. Because so many people were leaving, I felt called to return.
I was ready to give up everything in my life to follow Jesus. I hope you feel the same way. So what should you do? You can do a Google search and contact one of the hundreds of mission organizations that will help you get where you want to go. Most offer training, advice and a way to get financial support. Should this be your first step? No.
Don’t bypass your local church. You need them and they need you. Let’s consider three reasons why you need your church and one way you can bless your church as you seek to serve Christ in a cross-cultural context.
Invite your church to help you discern your calling
I don’t know about you, but when I want something, it’s almost impossible to change my mind. Now, I’m a Christian, so I’ll definitely take it to our Lord in prayer. But it’s amazing how clearly and quickly I think I hear “yes” when I pray for something I really want.
But it’s amazing how clearly and quickly I think I hear “yes” when I pray for something I really want.
Our emotions are deceptive and our heart alone cannot be trusted. As you think about where and when to go, how will you discern this calling outside of your church? Alone, I’m sure you’ll hear “you can go anywhere you want, and you can go there now.”
There are needs everywhere. Opportunities can be found all over the world. How will you decide correctly? You need your church to have a voice in these decisions (Proverbs 1:1-7).
My wife and I have been invited to several different countries to consider joining the work there. Each of these places was exciting and filled great needs. I can’t imagine having to process everything we experienced without our pastor accompanying us. He guided us in considering what we could not have on our own. You need your church to help you discern your destination and calling.
Invite your church to train you for work abroad
The local Church is the greatest field of preparation for missions. Yes, training focused on evangelization, cultural contextualization and learn a language can be provided through mission agencies; but the foundation of all this is found first of all in the Church.
The local Church is the greatest field of preparation for missions.
It is through the Church that you learn and experience the importance of the Word of God lived in community. This is where you are discipled and given the opportunity to become one. It is in your church that you grow in prayer, Bible reading, and other spiritual disciplines (Ephesians 4:11-16). If you’re not doing these things in your local church, don’t expect to start doing them in the field, where it’s more difficult and you’re not in a familiar place.
Dear brother and sister, you may not be ready for the field. Passion itself is not enough for faithful missions. Your life needs to be observed and invested, and your local church can better train and evaluate you.
Invite your Church to send you to the nations
When your church sees your gifts, your training, and your maturity, they are the ones who send you. It is your church that verifies your faith and blesses you for mission. They are responsible for your soul, and when they commission you, they not only affirm your calling, but declare to the world that you are ready for the ministry of the Gospel.
It is your church that verifies your faith and blesses you for mission.
This is the biblical model of missions. In Luke 10 we see Christ sending the 70. We see it in the early Church and in the lives of Paul, Timothy, and others (Acts 13). And so he should also lead our mission dispatches.
Strengthening your Church’s love for the nations
By working on your calling in the ways mentioned above, you not only benefit, but you also bless your church by inviting them to participate in the process. Yes, some churches will send hundreds of people, but most will never send a single person. Don’t take away the opportunity for your church to participate and grow in its overall vision.
Not everyone is called to go, but as you do, you can strengthen your Church’s love for the lost throughout the world. Through your faithfulness in following Jesus in this way, they will be stimulated in their own following of Christ.
What an opportunity you can offer your church to join you in prayer and partnership for the sake of the Gospel to the ends of the earth! Don’t bypass your local church when considering going. And don’t neglect the local church in your new context either.