5 Good Reasons to Do
Missions
By Lanilane Ocbina
Not all Christians want to go to a foreign land with no
promise of abundant supply of “milk and honey”. Not to mention the possibility
of living in that faraway place forever, in short, to be there and be unable to
go back home anymore. Missions is a “great sacrifice” for most believers but
for the missionaries themselves, it is obedience, noting “Obedience is better
than sacrifice” 1 Samuel 15:22.
Missions is usually one of the most downplayed offices in
the Kingdom of God because most believers do not understand its importance as
the finishable task of God.
Many believers focus on the edifying of the present
churches, which I believe is good but the problem is, Missions is often
forgotten, considering that for the Lord, it is a major thing. Today there is a
great imbalance between the “reached” and the “unreached” mission fields or the
“pursuable task”[1]
and the “finishable task”[2]
so to speak. Both are important so both should be addressed well. As per this
article, I would like to focus more on the task for the “unreached” or the
“finishable task”, while reckoning with the role of the ministries in the
“reached” or the “pursuable task”.
Talking about the unreached, we should understand missions
well first. So what is missions? Who are the missionaries? And how critical is
this office in the Kingdom of God?
Missions is the sending out of the called ones to those who
have never heard of the Gospel. This is a different term from “Mission”, which
pertains to the mission of the church that is to evangelize nations, baptizing
them and teaching them to obey the Lord. The latter sounds more general and the
former sounds more specific, pertaining to the “unreached”, and is categorized
in many different forms depending on factors like geography, social and
economic status, and religions. Mission is virtually the same with “Mission
Dei”, which is the Latin phrase for the “Mission of God”.
Every Biblical church is supposed to be “Missional”. This
means that each church has to have a vision of the completion of God’s work
from their own “Jerusalem”, “Judea”, “Samaria” and not forget the “ends of the
earth”. Hence, the missionaries should not be tried to be erased from the
picture.
To summarize, some Missiologists will define these terms:
Mission: Science
Missions: Sciences
Missional: Scientific
Missionary: Scientist
You see, Missions is not an option, it has to be in every
church. It does not matter whether it is a mega church or just a tiny house
church. Again, every church has to be missional. How?
Not all churches can send their own missionaries but all
churches can be prayer warriors for those who “go”. Therefore, the commitment
to be the prayer warriors for the frontliners sent to do the finishable task is
already having your church engaged to Missions. This way, you are called an
“Intercessor”. On the other hand, every church can raise funds, no matter the
amount, and send it for missions. You see, it is not about the amount but about
the heart, as how the Lord Jesus saw the heart of the widow who gave her mites
as her offering[3].
This way, you are called a “Sender”.
If you understand the Missions, then you can talk about it
and teach about it in the churches. That will make you a “Mobilizer”. And if
you sense that the Lord has called you to go to a foreign land to proclaim His
Gospel, then you are definitely called a “Goer”.
None among the Intercessor, Sender, Mobilizer, and Goer is
superior over the other. Everyone is important in this office. The important
thing here is that you understand Missions and why you should be engaged. Here
are five very important reasons to answer your “WHYs”:
1. COMMISSION. It is God's Mission. And it is your mission
too. Whatever the odds, God has already pronounced the end point, which is
victory. Those who will remain faithful in the end will share His glory. And as
He prepares for that time, He wants virtually all to be saved and be there in
that grand day. Now the question is, are you joining God in that pursuit?
2. PROVISION. You are called for it. And so everything you
need will be sustained. Sure there will be doubts but when you are sure it is
God calling you, you have to just go and obey and then leave the consequence to
Him. For wherever the Lord leads, He provides. Most of the time, you are
holding back when God is actually ready to open the gates of the heavens to
pour down all the blessings in your life as you obey. So go for it and
experience God’s miracles before your eyes!
3. COMPASSION. Love is your fuel to move forward. As you
come to know Jesus more, you also grow in love for He is love. Missions exist
because of love- God’s love for us and our love for His people. Hence if you do
not love the unreached, there must be a problem. Check your heartbeat if it is
still the same with Jesus’.
4. PROMOTION. As you grow deeper in the Lord, you go to the
next level of being His follower. Jesus started it all when He did the ministry
in Jerusalem and sometime in Samaria too. But when He ascended to heaven, His
instruction is to keep the work going from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria, and
to the ends of the earth. That is what He wants to be completed. And from a
baby Christian, you have grown to be part of that very essential task of the
Lord. You are promoted to do harder work but for sure, you will see greater
miracles that will blow your mind.
5. COMPLETION. His Word and His Promises will happen[4].
The End will come, and you are called by God to be part of His Mission's
completion. What a privilege!
You see, God’s heartbeat is for everyone on earth to know
about Him because that will make all things right. Some would see that as an “inferiority
complex” or a “superiority complex” but nonetheless, if you look at the real
point in His Word, if you are not in God, your life is meaningless.
It is all about Him. It all has to be about Him not because
He needs everyone’s attention but because, it is only through Him that we will
get the true essence of life. It is all about Him because we are everything for
Him. He demonstrated that when He died on the cross to cover our sins. And He
resurrected to come back again. That is what we are to tell the world through
Missions. So go and be part of the completion.
[1]
Pursuable task is the work of the believers in places where the Gospel has
already been proclaimed, which is often called the “reached”. In this context,
there are already Christians who are working to advance the Kingdom of God.
Meaning there are already viable churches and Bibles exist and are not new to
the people.
[2]
Finishable task is the work of the believers in places where the Gospel has
never been heard of and that people have no idea who Jesus is or what the Bible
is.
[3] Luke
21:1-4
[4]
Very important to consider is Matthew 24:14.
