A Veteran Missionary's Guide to Missions

And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world,
 and preach my Gospel to every creature.

Mark 16:15

Part One: Why We Must Do Missions

Evangelism is a focal part of the Christian faith.  Sharing our faith with the lost is something that Christ expects from each of his followers. It is not a suggestion or a request; it is a mandate from God. Evangelism is the natural by-product of a mature and growing faith.  For the majority of Christians, evangelism takes place on the local level.  We witness to our family members, neighbors, co-workers, and (sometimes) even complete strangers. 

A part of evangelism is missions.  The word "missions" was coined by Jesuit monks to describe those who were "sent" to minister in foreign lands. They rightly believed that this special calling, with its greater dangers and sacrifices, was set apart from regular evangelism and deserved (at the least) a new classification.  Unlike many Christians today, who believe that "we are all missionaries," the early Church understood that leaving your family, your culture, and your heart language behind so that you could pour out your life in a strange land was not the same as spending twenty minutes telling your neighbor what Christ has done in your life.

During the early era of international missions, the crate that carried your possessions to the field often doubled as your coffin.  The average life expectancy for those early missionaries was less than five years. Fortunately, medical breakthroughs and advances in transportation has significantly improved the survival rate of missionaries.   However, the sacrifices they make are still very real.  Ask anyone who has spent more than a month overseas; it is not easy to live in a different country.

Obviously, Christians do not do missions because it is easy.  They do it because it is right.  The Great Commission was not limited to local evangelism.  Jesus commanded them to go "unto the uttermost part of the earth."  To me, that phrase always conjured up images of those places that I would LEAST like to visit- and that may very well be what He was saying.  Missions requires us to reach a greater level of commitment in our service to Christ because we often end up going to places that we never wanted to go to and doing things that are completely outside our comfort zone.

So, you may be asking yourself, "What is she trying to do, scare me from ever doing a mission trip?" No, that isn't my intent at all.  Instead, what I'm trying to say is that the missions experience will take your faith to a higher level because it is HARD.  Have you ever talked to someone who has just returned from a mission trip?   They go on and on and on about how incredible it was and how it changed their life.  The number one response that I've heard from first-time mission trippers is something like this: "I went, thinking that I might be a blessing to others, but I ended up being the one who was blessed."

Going on a mission trip is a lot like riding a roller coaster for the first time.  There is a lot of anxiety and trepidation before you head out, then you are overwhelmed with new sensations and experiences, and finally you are dropped back at the start feeling exhilarated and you can hardly wait to do it again. Face it, missions gives you a rush like nothing else, but (like the roller coaster) it can be a bumpy ride; whether it is your first mission trip or your fiftieth, you just never know what might happen.

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be writing on what you can do to make your next mission trip a little easier.  If you've never gone on a mission trip, I hope that these blogs will spark a desire in you to stretch your faith enough to be willing to reach the lost overseas.  At the very least, I hope that it will give you the knowledge of how you can better pray for those in your church who will soon be taking mission trips and for the career missionaries who have committed their whole lives to reaching the uttermost ends of the earth.

Do Not Disturb

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice,

 and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Revelation 3:20

Of all the verses in the Bible, this one is probably the most misapplied.  We hear it used often at revivals.  We have probably used it ourselves when sharing Christ with the lost.  However, what many Christians don't realize is that this verse was intended for believers rather than for the lost.

Now don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean that we cannot use this verse when leading someone to the Lord.  However, since Jesus was speaking to us, the Church, when He said this; surely it is vital that we look at what He said in that context.  Jesus is knocking at the door of the Christian's heart (our heart) and asking to come in.  How can that be?, we may ask ourselves. As a believer, we have already accepted Him into our hearts.  Why would Jesus need to tell us that He is standing at our heart's door and knocking to come in?  The reason is that many of us have hung a "Do Not Disturb" sign on our heart.

Why would a believer hang a "Do Not Disturb" sign on their heart?  The answer is simple enough: We are afraid of what Jesus might ask us to do.  After all, if we open our hearts completely to God, He may ask us to risk our jobs by witnessing to a lost co-worker.  Or He may question the emphasis that we place on our children's sports programs.  If we answer the knock on our heart, Jesus might come in and interrupt our weekly schedule- and that might mean missing our favorite TV show or the time we spend with our favorite hobby.  Opening that door might invite Jesus to begin messing with our finances; and do we really want to answer to Him about how we are spending our money?  Even worse, He may ask us to re-evaluate into whose hands we have placed the education of our children- and why.

Face it, opening the door to our hearts is scary.  There is just no telling where it might take you, but I do know this:  Opening the door to Christ will take you off that sofa and into a dark, lost world.  It will bring you hardships and sorrow- and you may never be able to call another minute your own.  But by letting Christ in, you will begin to have the kind of spiritual relationship that you were meant to have.  So throw open that door and let Christ use you to change the world.

Gotta go.  I think I hear someone knocking at the door...

Loving Your Neighbor

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

Luke 10:27

 

 

Jesus repeatedly emphasized the importance of these two principles: love God and love your neighbor. In the Gospel of Luke, a lawyer raises the question of who our neighbor is; to which Jesus responded with the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan.  Through that parable, Christ effectively tore down the racial barriers that threatened to keep the Christian faith limited to the Jews and empowered the spread of the Gospel to all people.

 

What I've noticed, however, is that while we eagerly accept the worldwide definition of "neighbor," we tend to overlook the literal aspect of loving our neighbor. Are we loving the very people that live next door to us?  Think of your neighborhood as your own personal mission field.  You are the missionary that God has sent to the families that live in your subdivision.

 

As former international missionaries, we quickly learned the "golden rule" of evangelism: "People won't accept what you say until they believe that you love them."  This concept holds true all over the world- and especially in your neighborhood.  Your witness need to begin by building genuine relationships with your neighbors.

 

In order to love our neighbor, we need to begin with being a good neighbor. Did you know that the number one cause of conflict between neighbors are pets?  Dogs that are prone to barking or that are allowed outside unsupervised are a major source of annoyance to neighbors and can destroy any chance of a Christian witness.

Deuteronomy 19:14 commands us not to encroach on our neighbor's land.  A good neighbor respects the property of his fellow neighbors.  You can avoid border wars by keeping your pets and children off of your neighbors' land and being careful not to place trees or structures too close to property lines.

Noisy neighbors are a problem to everyone living nearby; whether it is loud music, parties, or just running the leaf blower early on a Saturday morning.  If you are planning a party or barbecue, be polite and let the neighbors know ahead of time.  Keep kids and pets indoors (or at least quiet) until 10 AM on weekends and after 10 PM on weekdays.

Finally, go the extra mile in being a good neighbor.  Be friendly.  Take the time to speak to your neighbor if you see them out in the yard. If they seem open, begin building a relationship slowly, but follow the advice of Proverbs 15:17 and don't overdo it..  If conflicts have already arisen between you and a neighbor, try to resolve the problem and "mend fences."

Neighbors can be a wonderful resource in times of need. Proverbs 27:10 tells us that, in a calamity, a neighbor nearby is better than family that live farther away. Whether you need to borrow a cup of sugar to finish that recipe or someone to pick your daughter up at the bus stop while you run your sick baby to the doctor, a neighbor can be a life saver.  Neighbors who know you and are somewhat familiar with your schedule can be the best security system around.

After commanding us to love God with all our hearts, Jesus says that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. He tells us that there is no greater commandments than these.  If loving our neighbor is that important to Jesus, it ought to be important to us, too.