Fulfill the Mission

We are all called and dispatched to do our Father's work, with compassion, developing a heart for
people so that they might come to know our Savior. Romans 10 states:
13 For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!"

We are all called, we are equipped, and we can go forth with a willing heart and devoted obedience to share the love of our Savior with a world that needs to know it.  We can rejoice in the stories of how God is working in the lives of those who have accepted Jesus as Savior, and know that is His ultimate intent for every person: that they may come into that saving knowledge of Him.  To that end, He has called His people to be ambassadors for Him.

+++++

In Matthew chapter 9, we see that Jesus is relating His Kingdom plan, calling out laborers to fulfill His call.  The last verse of this passage, verse 38, is the theme Scripture of a missions-sending effort
for a major Christian denomination. Here are the words of Jesus:
36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
37 Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

Last week was notable in the Church, as two major Christian denominations held their annual meetings - the Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas, where over 9,600 people attended and the Presbyterian Church in America, where almost 1,500 came to the General Assembly in Atlanta.

There are notable storylines that have emerged from both of these events, but I wanted to highlight how God is moving through these denominations in the fulfillment of the Great Commission.  For instance, the PCA, through its Mission to the World organization, is, according to its website, encouraging churches to "pledge just 1% of their members to global missions."

At the General Assembly, according to its Twitter feed, MTW held a luncheon, at which it highlighted one of the works: "outreach and church-planting efforts of MTW missionaries and national partners among the Sakalava people of Madagascar. Part of the project involves bringing the Word of God to the people in their own unique language and music." Another part of the project is "a business as mission venture that provides employment to Sakalava women."

Mission to the World Coordinator Lloyd Kim has written:

If every PCA church gave 1 percent of its members for longer-term missions service in the next 10 years, that would result in over 2,800 new missionaries. Think of what God can do, will do, with 2,800 new missionaries!

Jesus tells His disciples in His Word to “pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matt 9:38). Would you pray boldly with us for 1 percent?

Meanwhile, over in Dallas, there was a focus on missions, as well.  Outgoing International Mission Board President David Platt said, according to Baptist Press: "The IMB is about a coalition of over 47,000 churches working together to support thousands of anonymous missionaries whose names and places where they work can't even be mentioned in public because they are spreading the Gospel at great risk to their lives. They are the IMB, and I want to report to you on what they are doing..."

He shared a number of brief reports, including:

-- A Muslim people group is hearing the Gospel for the first time in one of the largest slums in Sub-Saharan Africa.

-- Thousands of Iranian and Afghan refugees are coming to know Christ across Europe.

-- One church in a European city started four new churches in the last year. When six people were recently baptized, two were European, one was Chinese, and the other three were Iranian.

Another Baptist Press article, a wrap-up report, stated, "At a Tuesday evening commissioning service, the IMB sent out 79 new missionaries and led messengers in prayer for all 11,700 people groups in the world."

Also, each year, in the SBC host city, a Crossover evangelistic event is held.  The wrap-up said: "The Crossover evangelism emphasis preceding the annual meeting yielded a record 4,229 professions of faith, including 2,339 at the June 10 Harvest America crusade with evangelist Greg Laurie."

God is at work, and it's important that we celebrate how people are coming to know Him and how people are responding to the call of Christ to follow Him in the Great Commission.  Outgoing SBC President Steve Gaines proclaimed, "God's supernatural power is greater than any problem Southern Baptists have.... Stop talking about how big your problem is and start talking about how big your God is..."

We serve a God who does want to do incredible things, transforming those who call upon His name, bringing us into spiritual growth...and bringing others into His family through a relationship with Christ.  We are called to demonstrate the love and character of Christ, so others might be drawn to Him.

Truth is, we are all called to go - that's the Great Commission.  That may involve sharing the gospel in our workplace, our neighborhoods, our cities, or cities across our land - or other lands.  Many will be engaging in short-term missions this summer.  And, there are those who will be called into vocational ministries - a full-time position, perhaps a lengthy stay in another nation of the world.  God is weaving His body into a glorious tapestry, full of people with differing gifts and expressions, that provides a way for Him to show His love and communicate His truth.

The elements for each of us are there, and should be activated: a willing heart, devoted obedience, the power of the Holy Spirit, resulting in productivity for the Kingdom.