It was 1792, and world evangelism was barely on the radar of Baptist churches in England. But it was heavy on the heart of a thirty-one-year-old bivocational pastor in Northamptonshire. His name was William Carey, and he was passionate about the Great Commission.
Carey’s appeal to other pastors to form a missionary agency had been met with apathy or pushback. But Carey couldn’t be silent. So he researched the needs of Christless people and studied the call to missions in the New Testament. And he wrote a booklet titled An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens. The booklet was divided into five sections covering the history of missionary work, the needs of the world, theological arguments, practical objections to missions, and specific actions Christians could take.
The Enquiry was revolutionary. But within its pages Cary included two questions that still deserve an answer: “Is not the commission of our Lord still binding upon us? Can we not do more than we are now doing?”
“Is not the commission of our Lord still binding upon us? Can we not do more than we are now doing?”—William Carey
Carey’s main argument was that the Great Commission was not just a command to the apostles, but a mandate from Christ for all Christians. This booklet stirred the hearts of Baptists around England, leading to the formation of the Baptist Missionary Society later that year. Ultimately, this society supported Carey as its first missionary, sending him to India where he would spend the rest of his life preaching the gospel and translating the Bible.
As great as Carey’s work was, the task remains unfinished. We still have the Great Commission from Christ to go into all the world and preach the gospel. And we still must do it.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:18–20)
Today, we must do more than we are now doing. The needs of lost souls around the world are too great for us to remain complacent.
So, what can we do?
1. We Must Go
The Great Commission begins with an important word: Go.
Missions is not merely an invitation; it is a command for every believer. As we can only be in once place at a time, however, every Christian cannot take the gospel to every part of the world. We must each share the gospel where God calls us.
God does call some to bring the gospel to foreign lands. We see this in Acts 13 as God called Paul and Barnabas to serve as missionaries.
As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. … So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus…. (Acts 13:2, 4)
Statistics reveal a sobering reality: the average age of Baptist missionaries continues to rise, and the need for new laborers in mission fields around the world grows.
How did William Carey sense God’s call to missions? Ultimately, it was the work of the Holy Spirit through the pages of Scripture. But initially, it was as he studied geography. He made a world map out of leather and hung it by his work bench as he prayed for people around the world who had never heard the gospel. Later he said, “To know the will of God, we need an open Bible and an open map.”
“To know the will of God, we need an open Bible and an open map.”—William Carey
This coming week, Lancaster Baptist Church will host our annual World Impact Conference. One of the things I pray will take place during this conference is the Lord stirring the hearts of teens and young adults to the great needs of our world for missions. I pray that God uses the missionary testimonies and the preaching of His Word this coming week to even call some to go as missionaries.
We simply must go to where people need the Lord.
2. We Must Send
Even as God called those first missionaries in Acts 13, the local church at Antioch sent them.
And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. (Acts 13:3)
We can imagine that this sending included both prayer and financial support to enable Paul and Barnabas’ journeys.
As William Carey volunteered to go to India as the first modern missionary of the English Baptist churches, he told his friend Pastor Andrew Fuller, “I will go down into the pit, if you will hold the ropes.” Indeed, to “hold the ropes” is a commitment to both pray for and financially support missionaries.
I thank the Lord for the many missionaries God has called from our own church family and for whom we get to be the sending church. And I thank the Lord for how Lancaster Baptist Church generously and sacrificially gives to support these and other missionaries who are bringing the gospel around the world. Over the past several years, the Lord has enabled our church family to give over $1 million dollars annually to missions. As we conduct World Impact Conference this week, we encourage each member of our church to prayerfully commit to consistent giving to support missionaries.
3. We Must Expect God to Bless Our Faith
It’s easy to look at the great need for missions—over eight billion people, many of whom have never even heard the gospel—and feel defeated. What difference does one more missionary, one more missions giving commitment, make toward meeting such a great need?
The answer is that we give and go in obedient faith. We obey the Great Commission because we trust God will bless our faith. Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Perhaps the most famous quote of William Carey is “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”
“Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”—William Carey
Throughout history, God has honored the faith of those who have dared to attempt great things for Him. Who can tell how God will bless our involvement in worldwide missions?
When William Carey, an unknown, bivocational pastor from England, arrived in India, there was no fanfare and no immediate results. In fact, it would be seven years before Carey saw his first convert trust Christ. But forty-one years later, when Carey died in Serampore, India, he left behind twenty-six churches, Bible translations in forty Indian languages, schools, and a college for training more pastors. He had stepped out and persevered in faith, and God blessed.
We can trust that as we go, give, and trust God, He will bless our faith as well.
World Impact Conference at Lancaster Baptist Church will be held November 3–5. We invite friends around the world to join us via live stream at LBClive.tv. A complete schedule for the conference is available at lancasterbaptist.org/world-impact-conference.
