A Wartime Footing In Missions The Need For A Wartime Footing In Missions During the Second World War, the British showed themselves capable of astonishing sacrifices (as did many other nations). They lived on meager, poor rations. They cut down their railings and sent them for weapons manufacture. Yet today, in what is truly a spiritual World War, Christians live as peacetime soldiers. If we are truly interested in following Jesus Christ, we need to take a deep look at Paul's injunctions to Timothy: - Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs – he wants to please his commanding officer. 2 Timothy 2:3-4
With these comments from Paul in mind - its appears that we seem to have strange ideas of Christian service. We will buy books, travel miles to hear a speaker on blessings, pay large sums of money to listen to a group singing the latest Christian songs - but we forget we are soldiers. We forget that there really is a battle for souls taking place and that the Church and we as "soldiers" within the Church are charged with a key mission in this battle. What is the primary mission of the Church? "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 Who is a missionary? A missionary is anyone sent by the Lord to establish a new Christian witness where such a witness is yet unknown. Traditionally defined missionary activity usually involves leaving our own immediate culture for another, taking the Gospel to people who differ in at least one aspect - such as language, nationality, race, or trine - from our own ethnic group. For some reason, many North Americans have come to believe that a missionary is only someone from the West who goes to Asia, Africa, or some other foreign land. Not so. When a former Hindu Brahmin crosses the subtle caste lines of India and works among the low-caste people, he should be recognized as a missionary just as much as a person who goes from Detroit to Calcutta. Christians in the West must abandon the totally unscriptural idea that they should support only white missionaries from America. Today it is essential that we support missionaries going from south India to north India, from one island of the Philippines to another, or from Korea to China - anywhere there is not a Christian witness. Unless we abandon the racism implied in our our unwritten definition of a missionary, we will never see the world reached for Christ. Where is the mission field? One of the biggest mistakes we make is to define missions in terms of nation states. These are only political boundaries established along arbitrary lines through wars or by natural boundaries such as mountain ranges and rivers. A more biblical definition conforms to linguistic and tribal groupings. Thus, a mission field is defined as any cultural group which does not have an established group of disciples. The Arabs of NYC, for example, or the people of the Hopi Indian tribe in Dallas, are unreached people groups in the United States. Over 11,000* such hidden people groups worldwide represent the real pioneer mission fields of our time. Where can I learn more about the people groups constituting the "mission field"? An excellent source for understanding people groups is provided by the International Mission Board at their Global Research site. What can we do? Understanding the call of the Church - and ourselves as members of the Church - to make disciples - I would submit that we need to evaluate our application of our heart, time and resources to this mission. Are we all individually called to be missionaries and visit the unreached people groups of this world? No - however - we are called as the body of Christ to make disciples of all nations. So while some of us may not be closing the last three feet with those who have not heard the Gospel, we all can: - Pray for both the people needing to hear the Gospel and those sharing the Gospel to those people.
- Contribute our monies to organizations that are focusing on the sharing of the Gospel.
- Contribute our time to support the organizations and people sharing the Gospel.
- Contribute our encouragement to those who are sharing the Gospel, and to those who become our Brothers and Sisters in Christ through these efforts.
- Pray that we collectively as fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ become committed enough to the mission we have to go on a "wartime footing" in our lives.
Are we really on a wartime footing in our own lives when it comes to the battle for souls? Each of us have to answer this question individually - but we must understand that our answer directly effects the ability of the Church to complete the mission it has been commanded to accomplish through Jesus Christ - that being to make disciples. Lets not only understand God's guidance in this area - lets follow it with all our heart, soul, and mind. - James 1:22: Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Portions Taken From: - K.P. Yohannan, Revolution In World Missions (Carrolton: GFA Books, 2003), pp. 159-162
- George Verwer, No Turning Back (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1983), pp.89,90.
- * IMB Global Research Site - Status Of Global Evangelization - Summary Of Unreached People, October 2004.
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