Practical Steps toward Fulfilling our Mission
August 31, 2008
On Wednesday evening we wrapped up our Core Values Fellowships by talking about our final core value: “We prayerfully seek to spread this kingdom proclamation and portrayal in our immediate neighborhood and as God leads us in our city, country, and world.” This is the equivalent of saying, “Jesus commanded us to make disciples of all nations, and we want to obey that command.”
What makes this endeavor breathtakingly immense is the remaining work to be done if “all nations” are to be reached with the gospel. I looked yesterday at www.joshuaproject.net and found these statistics: about 6,600 unreached people groups remain, representing 40% of the world’s population (2.7 billion people). There is a lot of spreading yet to be done.
I pray that such statistics shake us out of the complacency and ease that so often define our American culture, and tragically, our American church. We cannot pretend that this is not our responsibility. Jesus commanded us to make disciples of every people group, and it is the church’s job by the Spirit’s power to see the task completed. So on one level, I want us to feel like the college student watching a movie at 10 PM who is jarred when he remembers that his 30 page research paper-only 60% complete-is due at 8 AM. The only option is to turn the movie off and get to work.
At the same time, the enormity of the remaining task should not paralyze us so that we question whether the mission is even possible. Though I hope that our church sends many missionaries to the unreached people groups over the next decades, we cannot all go. But here is what we can do: we can make disciples where we are, and we can obey Jesus’ command to “pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:38).
I would like to challenge to each member of Whitton Avenue Bible Church with these action points as we think about our call to spread Christ’s gospel. First, think about 5 non-believers in your life, and pray that God would use your gospel witness to save them, so that you can begin to fulfill Jesus’ command by bringing them into the church community and teaching them what it means to follow him (cf. Matthew 28:18-20).
Second, go to www.joshuaproject.net (or www.operationworld.org, which is a bit more user friendly), and begin praying for God to send laborers into the field of these unreached people groups. You can adopt a people group to pray for regularly or use the tools on the websites to pray for a different people group daily.
The remaining task is massive, but God can do massive things through his people when we are fully surrendered to him and his mission. May we remain alert to the work that remains and labor by the Spirit’s power until Jesus returns.
Pastor Chris