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If you've had any extended exposure to an American church, you hear about missions over and over again. Whether it was a guest speaker, a special offering, or a foreign choir, church congregations get exposed to missions. The typical Sunday School lesson is "Everyone is a missionary. Some are students, some are professionals, and some do it for a living." It's important to be a light in the darkness around you, but that's not what I want to talk about. Rather, I'm talking about the people who give their lives to reach the world for Christ.
Missions is important to me. Not just because I want to see Christ’s name made known, but because it is a significant part of my life. Five generations of my family were missionaries, including my parents. After living abroad for most of childhood, I returned home for college, where I was involved in several missions-promoting clubs. In the years since graduating from college, I have spent nearly three of those years working at the World Missions office of the Assemblies of God. Based on my experiences in missions, I'd like to discuss three truths about missions.
Three Truths of Missions
1. Missions and Missionaries have baggage. Ask anthropologists about missions, and you'll hear horror stories about tribes’ cultures being destroyed or about the crusades. Also, you can find missionary stories of failed morals, broken families, and disastrous decisions. The truth is, people sin, and missionaries are people. King David sinned, the Apostle Paul sinned, the Twelve Disciples sinned, Billy Graham sinned, but the point of missions is to tell other sinners about the one who never sinned.
2. Missions is God's business. Missionaries pack up their families, move to a strange place, learn a strange language, and eat strange food. From visas, to fundraising, to wars and political unrest, and cultural adaptation, missions is full of unknowns and stress. For most personality types, that is not a desirable career path. In order to accomplish this enormous task, the missionary must have supernatural motivation.
God equipped Moses with miracles to show Pharaoh and sent Aaron to help do the talking; He radically transformed the Apostle Paul’s life and made him an incredibly effective writer and missionary; He forgave Peter of his sin and doubt and made him the leader of the church. God calls, empowers, and equips the people he wants to use, rather than only calling the empowered and equipped.
3. Missionaries need our support. Missionaries don't visit your church because they like preaching. Foreign choirs don't tour America because they like singing. Missionaries don't invite short-term teams because they need buildings painted. Missionaries need to be supported by people and churches who will pray and give.
Missionaries rely on funds from home to be effective overseas and they desperately rely on our prayers. In fact, of all the missionaries I've heard speak, I can't ever remember a time where the missionary emphasized a monetary need over a prayer need.
I Want to Hear From You!
Use the comment section below to tell me what you think about missions. Don't want to make it public? Send me an e-mail about your thoughts at missions@robsorbo.com.
