have a very hard time bending their minds around any other concept of
the term missionary except the traditional, ‘we are going long term to
live in the jungle amongst the villagers.’ I believe this traditional
view, and stereotype has and is hindering the position and potential of
missions in the Church today. It is hurting the Church, the possible
supporters to missions, and the potential missionaries themselves.”
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What is “missions”?is bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who don’t know Him as
their Lord and Savior. It knows no limits in territory, people, places,
or methods used to reach those who are lost.
God’s desire is that none should perish. So, how has He designed it so
that all can hear?
Through His Holy Spirit, through His creation, and through us…
God’s Call to each individual is unique
and specific to the person. He uses your upbringing, surrounding
environment, and experiences and couples them with His vision, goals
and desires, to shape you into a unique tool for His hands to mold and
guide and use. Eph 4:10 says that “we are God’s workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus to do good works, which He prepared in advance for us to
do.”
God’s Will is for each individual to love God
and love people; that’s the two greatest of commandments, as seen in
Mathew 22:36-40.
Great Commission, found in Matthew 28:18-20: “Therefore, go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I
commanded you; and surely I am with you always, even to the end of the
age.”
“All authority has been given to Me on heaven and earth…” That is
why we have the power to go into all the world, because all authority
has been given to Him. And we need to realize that it is enacted by His
Presence, “…and surely I am with you, even to the end of the age.”
God’s Command, to love Him and love Others,
drives us towards His Commission to go, make disciples, baptize, and teach, which is enabled by His Power and His Presence.
Why do we go on mission trips?
To reach the lost for Jesus and to train participants how to hear
God’s voice and to have a heart for the lost. We are not only trying
to reach this generation of lost people, but trying to disciple other
Christians, especially youth, to reach the lost until Christ returns.
We
(as AIM staff members) go, plan, organize, implement, and lead mission
trips as a response to God’s will for us. How each individual lives his life is a response to answering God’s call and living out His
will.
How did missions begin?
You can debate who was the first missionary from Job to Jesus.
The truth is that when Adam and Eve fell, God’s plan to redeem mankind
to Himself was put into action. The greatest missionary of all is
Jesus. He paid the ultimate price to redeem man to God.
Missions was God’s design and His heart from the beginning. We
in the Church today have mistakenly thought of missions as a New
Testament thing, a relatively new idea. Not so is the truth of the
matter. God has desired all peoples, nations, and tongues to come to him since the beginning. God’s covenant with Abraham was that he would bless
nations. God has His sights on all the world to come to the saving
knowledge of Jesus. That’s His heart, His vision, His desire.
What are some common words/terms used in missions?
“Unsaved” or “Unreached” – those who haven’t heard or accepted the message
and salvation through Jesus.
“10/40 Window” – the area of the world between 10 degrees north of the
Equator and 40 degrees north of the Equator. If you were to draw a
line across the globe in the region between these two points, except
for North America, the vast majority of unreached people live here.
This includes Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and Animists.
Church today does not realize how many opportunities there are, and
that missions is not just going and living with villagers and eating
bugs. That’s just a potential benefit for the wild ones at heart.”
