August 8
Missionaries
Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ––Mark 16:15-16
Did you have any friends growing up who were hesitant to accept Jesus because they were afraid He would tell them to go be missionaries in some remote corner of the globe? I did. However, according to the Gospel Coalition, of the roughly 2.5 billion Christians worldwide, only about 445,000 serve as foreign missionaries. This means that only about 0.01% of all Christians—or roughly 1 in 5,600 believers—serve overseas. The vast majority of missionaries (77%) actually serve in regions where the Christian population is already established.[1]
Hey, if God calls you to the international mission field, wonderful! It’s a noble and vital calling. But as the statistics above reveal, the chances of becoming a foreign missionary are slim. More than likely, what God is calling you to do is much less exotic, but from a spiritual standpoint, no less important: Love people right where you live. For most of us, that’s hard to do. Specifically, I’m talking about going out of your way to say hello to the neighbor who otherwise never returns the greeting. Or mowing the lawn of the new family that just moved in down the block. Or buying groceries for the single mom whose husband left her for someone else.
My friend KC and his wife had dreams of going on the mission field. As he labored away in a white collar job he really wasn’t excited about, he kept planning and dreaming of going abroad as a missionary. One day in his prayer time he cried out, “Lord, when are you going to release us to go to Central America?” He heard God’s small, still voice respond, ‘Why do you think you’d love people in another country when you don’t love them in your own city?” Yeah. Ouch. At that point everything shifted for KC and he began to work with pastors in his city; his Christian company started hosting monthly lunches for the pastors, and a citywide, multi-church prayer strategy was launched so that every home in town was prayed for. The pastors group also organized food giveaways, free pet grooming, car repair, and lawn mowing days, and assistance for the poor.
It turns out that like all of us, God was indeed calling KC to the mission field—it’s just that his assignment was to his home city and not one 2,500 miles away. In today’s verse Jesus commands His disciples to go into all the world—but remember that Jesus Himself barely traveled more than 100 miles from His home. For one person, to go into the world may mean a local calling, while for another their calling in Christ may take them around the world.
Most of us have heard the expression, “Every Christian is a minister, even if they are not called to be a pastor.” The following is also true: Every believer is called to be a missionary, spreading the love and grace of Christ wherever they go. And man of God, you don’t need a passport and a plane ticket to step onto the mission field. Simply walk outside and look around. God will reveal needs you never saw before, and in the process of blessing others, He will bless You as well.
Lord, sometimes I am so wrapped up in my own worries that I don’t see the many needs that surround me. Help open my eyes to be a missionary to the people on my block and in my city.
[1] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/when-stop-caring-missions/