Missions

Jesus gave the church a very clear command—evangelize the world. But each church cannot do this alone. The only way we can reach the world before the “night cometh when no man can work” is to support the work of pioneering missionaries.

Deputation looks more difficult than it really is. That is not to minimize the very real challenges. There is a price to pay for this method of raising missionary support—paid with time, finances, physical and emotional drain. But the dividends are great.

The Great Commission of Christ is, in fact, the mission of the local church. As Christians, and especially as local churches, Christ’s last command must be our first priority.

From the time the Apostle Paul uttered the words, “What wilt thou have me do?” until a Roman executor severed his head from his body—he was a missionary. The gospel to the entire world was his goal. The Lord Jesus was his passion.

In writing to one of his converts, Gaius, John commended him for many things. First, John was pleased that Gaius knew the truth. If we are to be true to God, we must know the truth. In our day with so many tools available to us, there is no reason for any Christian in America to be ignorant of the Word of God. It is vital for our spiritual growth that we read, study, memorize, and meditate on the Bible.

Many years ago I was reading a prayer letter from a missionary in the Dominican Republic. In the last paragraph, the missionary wrote these words, “Alexis asked me a couple months ago: ‘What would have happened to me and all the people in our church if you had not come to the Dominican Republic?’”

Even a casual reading of the Word of God will reveal to us that God desires that all the people of the earth, in every generation, know about HIM.

I have told the story of my call to preach and Virginia’s response many times. I believe that was the secret of our ministry in Japan and for sixty-two years of ministry together.

An article on the front page of a Manila newspaper caught my eye one day when I was at the Iloilo City airport. The story was about a university that was started over 100 years ago. This institution is located on an island not too far from us. Through the years I have met several of their graduates.

When you talk to a family on deputation for the mission field, you sense a lot of excitement. They can’t wait for the traveling to be finished. They can’t wait to board the airplane. They are eager to serve the Lord in a foreign country.

Travel to northeastern Uganda, and you may stumble across the village of Kaliro where Pastor Kasajja Fredrick and his family live and minister. Since the time of his salvation and calling of God, his burden has been to see independent Baptist churches started in his community.

When you consider the needs of the 10/40 window—a region spanning from ten to forty degrees north of the equator on the Eastern Hemisphere—it’s overwhelming. The 10/40 window contains:

One of the ways that our church reaffirms and renews our commitment to praying for harvest laborers and participating in the work of those on the field is through our annual missions conference.

Each year BIMI teaches new missionaries about culture shock and cross cultural evangelism. When missionaries leave the United Sates and enter other countries, they immediately face the task of adjusting to a different culture.

In reading this passage, I was struck by the similarity of the treatment Jesus received under the religious leaders to what is happening all around the world today. The religious authorities’ treatment of Jesus is being repeated in surprising detail this very moment.

Financially and prayerfully supporting worldwide missions is not just a commandment for North American churches—it is a commandment for every local church in the entire world.

One of the highlights was a service in the town of Goroka. The church house was filled with hundreds of people. Approximately fifty children sat on the floor. All three of us preached. Not one child left their seat. I still can’t believe how quiet and attentive the children were for a three-hour service.

Having served as a church planting missionary in London, England for over five years, I had some groups that were a tremendous blessing. I also had others who were a tremendous burden and left my family and the ministry that the Lord gave us suffering when they left. Let me quickly say, a missions trip can be a great blessing to the church planter or it can be a great burden. Below are a few thoughts about short term missions trips that will come from the perspective of a pastor and a church planter:

A furlough is defined as “a leave of absence.” To missionaries, the term “furlough” is known as the time to go “home.” There are many different views on what a furlough is, depending on what a missionary wants to accomplish while he is back in his homeland.

I wrote these thoughts last month in the middle of our annual Faith Promise Missions Conference. This year, like most years, we were privileged to have a number of missionaries and fields represented in our conference. They are sharp, articulate people desiring to go the mission field and share Christ with the multitudes. The only thing holding them back is the financial resources necessary to go and be sustained on those fields.