In
June 2011, I was watching our Southern Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting from
Phoenix, Arizona. I am very thankful for this service by the way! During this
2011 annual meeting I listened to Tom Eliff’s report from the International
Mission Board. I never thought that God would use a report at an annual meeting
to change my thinking and my life, but He did. My entire life I have been
Southern Baptist. My thinking has always been that if God wanted you to do
International Missions then He would call you to serve through the
International Mission Board. If He did not call you, then all you needed to do
was support those missionaries doing the work through prayer and giving. My
thinking was changed that year! Why? Because of what the Bible really says.
Let’s
take a look at what the Bible really says regarding this issue.
What
are we commanded to do?
“Then Jesus came near
and said to them, ‘All
authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe everything
I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the
age.’” – Matthew 28:18-20
This
scripture is the Great Commission and it is Jesus’ command to all Christians.
All Christians, not just those that are called to full-time missionary service, are
commanded to “Go and make disciples of
all nations…” There is no in-between. We as Christians are to go and make
disciples!
Where
are we commanded to go?
“But you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in
Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” –
Acts 1:8
It
is my conviction that this scripture tells us to be a witness for Jesus Christ
everywhere starting with where we are located to the very ends of the earth!
How
long are we commanded to go?
“This good news of the
kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world
as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come.”
– Matthew 24:14
We
are commanded to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all the nations until the
very end. There is no time for retirement or quitting. Christians are commanded
to go until the end.
What
will be the result?
“After
this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people,
and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before
the Lamb. They were robed in white with palm branches in their hands.” –
Revelation 7:9
The
result will be that the nations will hear the Gospel and there will be people
from “every nation, tribe, people and language” counted among those that are
saved. As Christians, we are commanded to go, the work will not be easy but the
work will not be in vain!
Because
of my conviction of what the Bible instructs Christians to do regarding the
lost, I felt led by the Lord to lead our church to embrace an Unreached,
Unengaged People Group. Our church has embraced the Italians of the United
Kingdom. For a few years now, we have been praying diligently for this group to
be saved! We have been able to travel a few times to visit, prayer walk and
minster to our embraced group. Currently, we are trying diligently to raise
money to send another team back this year.
I
would like to ask you to pray for a few things:
- That God would move mightily amongst the Italians of the UK and that they would be saved.
- That our church can continue to raise funds to send another team back.
- That other churches will come alongside our church as partners to reach this group.
- That our church will continue to catch the vision
