Missions

Ever had a week where one idea, one concept is continually present in your life? No matter the day or the event, its all related to one thing. Last week was one of those weeks for me. I heard a pastor from Uganda preach, did a study about it in lifegroup, had dinner with ladies serving in many different ways, went to a conference fully based on the idea, and heard a sermon focused on it. What this it? Missions.

Mission work is something I have been thinking about a lot in the past few years. For a while I thought of it as always going out into the nations and having to be in another country to do mission work. Then I attended on church that focused a lot on being on mission in our community, in our every day life. When you look at the scriptures you find that we are called to be missionaries in many aspects. 

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on 

you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea 

and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

Acts 1:8 

This is saying that we are to work in our community, our state, our country, and in the world. Okay, so this idea makes sense, but how can we effectively do that? What are things we can do locally and how can we be a missionary without going to the ends of the earth?  

The study I did this week (from Lifepoint Church in Columbus) discussed "4 Practices of Kingdom Living."

1. The practice of going. Yes, some people are called to go, to travel into another area, another culture and present the Gospel to those people. 

2. The practice of welcoming. Many people come right to our area from all over the world. Maybe they have moved for schooling, to be with family, or because of their refugee status. The nations are coming to us! 

3. The practice of sending. There are many ways to help send others on mission: giving funds, selling goods with profits going to missions, buying from certain companies who support missions, offering our talents to organizations that are mission focused.  

4. The practice of mobilizing. This means challenging and empowers others to go, welcome, and support. These people are recruiting others to find they joy they have found in this work. 

We are all a part of the body of Christ. Some people are the hands that pray, others are the brains that work to earn money to support, others are the feet that go. If someone who is enabled to be the hands tries to be the feet they aren't going to be effective and they will probably not be happy in their pursuit. Know what part of the body you are and live that to the fullest. Reflect, pray, ask God where you are called. Not everyone is called to leave their home and move to a foreign land, but everyone is called to a missionary.