At times Christians redirect their attention away from missions thinking that the message to go is for someone else. I hope that through these pages my readers will see the relevance of the topic of missions to their own daily lives.
We must engage in God's global mission for personal growth, church strength, obedience to Christ, the eternal well-being of the unreached & untold, a crown of rejoicing, laying up treasure in heaven, and for glorifying the Father in bearing much fruit.
A local church that responds in faith as a Body to intentionally train, equip, support, and send missionaries to people groups who have no access to the Gospel, of necessity, must evaluate what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how to get the job done. This means the whole Body must walk by faith to accomplish their Biblical purpose. Vision must be cast. Planning must occur. Discipleship must be normal. Self-control must be implemented. People must invest time, energy, and resources. Faith must be practiced. Goals must be set. The teams must be informed.
It is exciting to see God transform lives as we act by faith. Evangelism and discipleship at home often stoke the heart fires toward ministry in other places. A heart for evangelism elsewhere often stokes the fire in hearts for what God is doing at home. The result is good works by faith. We live for Christ & others, not self.
Knowing the goal and process of establishing thriving churches overseas will help drive understanding of the needs and opportunities at home.
How do you take people who know nothing about Jesus Christ, overcome their entrenched worldviews, lead them to Christ, equip them, and send them to ordain Biblically qualified leaders in a remote place overseas? Who will we send to do that? What needs to happen in the home church to prepare people before we can send someone to glorify God in these ways overseas?