Why bother with world mission?
It was Christmas Eve when our eldest son announced that after our Christmas dinner he was becoming a vegetarian! We wondered whether it would last! As the weeks turned into months, and he set off for university we watched with admiration as he stuck to his convictions. What he believed was affecting the way he behaved. At the recent Mens Convention in Manchester I joined about 1000 other men for a day of teaching on gospel themes. It was great but in the back of my mind were the suffering believers in Laos and the miniscule church in North Africa and the ongoing concern that we can be complacent about our involvement in and commitment to taking the gospel to all nations.
Why bother with mission? Let me suggest two among many reasons:
1. A concern for the glory of God (see Acts 17:16ff)
While Paul was waiting in Athens he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. We see a similar reaction in the diaries of Henry Martyn, a missionary to India and Iran last century. On seeing the idols in Calcutta he wrote,
“Let me burn out for thee ... these idols excited more horror in me that I can well express.”
Do we share that same concern that in many countries people are worshipping idols, and thereby robbing God of his glory? The total number of believers in Central Thailand is not so very different to the numbers that attended the Mens Convention in Manchester.
2. Compassion for the lost
Matt 9:35-36 “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
The reality is that we are all lost and guilty before God and this is clearly explained in Romans 2:1-16. It would be much easier to believe that everyone is going to be all right and some appeal to Gen. 18:25 “Will not the judge of all the earth do right?” However in the context of Gen. 18:25, we quickly realize that only 3 people were saved from the two cities of Sodom and Gomorra.
What we believe affects the way we behave. Jesus saw the crowds and had compassion for they were lost! We need a dose of realism when we look at the world and realise how many face God’s wrath and judgment.
Chris and Helen have worked in Northwest China for nearly 10 years with their two small children at great sacrifice. They are burdened for the 8 million Uyghurs Muslim people among whom you would struggle to find 200 Christians. They are teachers using their professional skills and doing an excellent job, but they also have gospel hearts. Many of the countries that are closed to traditional missionaries but open to those with professional skills are those where the church is smallest but the cost is great.
Endless openings but what is needed?
In asking a Filipino friend what qualities were needed for missionaries he replied ‘If you won’t miss them we don’t want them.’
An African Pastor, when asked a similar question, provided a fuller answer. He replied ‘I would look for three things: someone with maturity, with skills which are of practical use; and with a servant spirit.’
Any missionary society will tell you that there are thousands of openings around the world. However, skills alone are not sufficient for we are looking for people with servant hearts, who can rightly handle the Word of God and engage biblically with another culture.
Short term or long term?
Most short termers can’t speak the language, and some haven’t even flown before. And because they don’t know the way around they need senior missionaries to show them the ropes. Yet short term is a marvelous way of seeing God at work in another culture. Some return vowing ‘never again’! But they still manage to infect their church with the mission bug and encourage others to pray, give and go. They may never return to East Asia but they at least know why mission is not for them. Others return better able to pray. And some return long term.
There is still an urgent need for people to come and learn the language and culture and love the people, and stay long enough to be effective. Short term trips can provide extra thrust in ministries but we still need people on the ground long term.
Home or away?
It would be a foolish person who looked at the church in the UK and said the job was done. There are needs all over the world, including the UK, and each of us needs to discover the role and place God has for us.
My plea is that each of us looks honestly and openly at what God is doing in the world and the state of the church and then asks what role we can play. Who knows God might lead you to Cambridge but then again he might lead you to Cambodia!
What we believe should affect the way we behave.
Is it true of us?
Keith Wood, OMF North Regional Director
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?
1. Pray Jesus Commanded the disciples, and us after them, to ‘ask the Lord of the harvest...to send out workers’.
2. Consider Prayerfully consider the possibility of full/part time gospel ministry now and for the future - keep it on the agenda for you and others.
3. Give Generously and prayerfully give to those directly involved in full or part time gospel ministry .