Two Sunday’s ago, Calvary had a missions focused day of worship. The day was filled with beautiful ethnic decorations, international foods, and two well-traveled missionaries who presented the morning and evening messages. It was a wonderful day of helping us followers of Jesus get exposed to what God is doing in the world. I sincerely hope that it will not just be remembered as a neat change, but that it will serve as a spark that ignites our hearts to the mission of God!
During the morning sermon, some of the things that were said began to stir my heart and soul. One of the main points was that the goal of missions is not buildings, or evangelism, or even establishing the indigenous church. These things are all good, but the goal of missions is simply this: to glorify God! If this is the case (which I believe it is) then this means that we can all be (and in fact are) “missionaries”. For far too long, the word “missions” has been associated exclusively with going over seas and to third world countries in order to reach people with the message of Jesus. Missions is this, but it is not only this.
You see, if the goal of “missions” is to glorify God, then every Christian is a “missionary.” Why? Because the goal of every follower of Jesus is to bring God glory. Christianity is not a faith that is meant to be consumed and horded; we are not meant to be the end users of the Gospel. No, one of the core elements of true Christianity is to “go.” It is a faith that is meant to be shared and it is a faith that commands us to love and serve those in the world around us (locally and globally). We are blessed so that we can be a blessing to others (Genesis 18:18, 26:4). If we are truly following Jesus, then His mission becomes our mission.
So what is a “missional” Christian? Very simply, it is one who, in following Jesus, has aligned their self with His mission of bringing the Good News of God’s love to their world. It is one who does not limit or delegate the work of missions to just those who travel to far off places, but embraces the work of missions as their own.
So, have you ever thought of yourself as a “missionary”? Have you ever been guilty of hording the Gospel to yourself? Are you ready to respond to God’s call to go?!
