Missions: "OK" CHURCH vs "GREAT" CHURCH

The Pastor Is KEY

As in every other activity of the church, the key person is the pastor. If missions is not a priority with the pastor it will not be a great missions church. However, if it is a priority with the pastor, any church regardless of the size can have a great missions impact. Since the pastor is the key there are some necessary ingredients.

- He must have knowledge of the needs of the world and thus a burden for the world. 

- He must have an unselfish spirit concerning the finances of the church and it members.

- A great missions church will give a large percentage of their total offerings to missions. 

- From a great missions church some of the best members will go to the mission field.

The Mandate Is Uncompromising

The great task of worldwide evangelism was given to the church. It is the glorious privilege and responsibility of every group that calls themselves a church. Even though churches work together in this task, every church should pray, go, and give as if they were the only church. In other words, the purpose of our church is worldwide evangelism. The great commission is not just a good idea. It is not a suggestion. It is not even a request. It is the final mandate of the Lord to His Church just before He ascended back to Heaven.

He plainly commanded, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations…” The word teach here means to make converts. We are to evangelize the entire world. This is done by the preaching of the Gospel. All men need a Saviour. Christ died for the sins of the whole world. We have good news for sinners. Sinners do not have to pay for their own sins by dying and going to Hell. Christ has died for them. He paid the price for them. Again He commanded, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” In reality, no group that is not at the task of worldwide evangelization should call themselves a church. Missions is not a program in the church. The program of the church is MISSIONS.

Your Church Can Make a Difference

Regardless of the size of your church, you can make an impact on a lost and dying world. Jesus tells us, “The Harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” The harvest has never been so great and the labourers so few. Your church through praying, giving and sending can provide the labourers for the great harvest fields of the world. This will not happen without a conscious effort on the part of the leaders of your church. Stop and think. Is my church totally involved in obeying the last command of the Lord, or do we just have a token interest in worldwide evangelism?

The Motivation For Involvement In God’s Mission

A better understanding of who God is and what he is trying to accomplish in the world is a good place to start.

Motivation for Missions 

God’s main intention in human history is to reunite himself with a world (people) that is estranged by sin. All that he is doing in time is an effort to further that desire. From the first verses of Genesis to the last verses of Revelation, his intention is articulated and illustrated. The wonder of it all is that he wants to accomplish this mission through the faithfulness of people like you and me.

 The fundamental biblical motivation for committing ourselves to missions is this - we love God and want to please him in our faithfulness. Our motivation to serve God in missions is further fueled by three factors:

Christ Sacrificed Himself For Us On The Cross 

The first public description of Jesus presented in the Bible is when John the Baptist called out: “Behold! The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” This proclamation in many ways sums up what Jesus’ mission was all about.

There Is A Great Need To Hear His Message Throughout The World

Having experienced the wonderful redemption God is offering to the world, the heartfelt response is to share it with those who haven’t heard. When we realize that there are more than two billion people who have yet to hear the gospel in an understandable way, then the need becomes compelling, even heart-breaking.

We must ask God to give us a heart for the lost; for those who have not yet experienced this redemptive relationship with God. When we more clearly perceive the need in the world, we fully appreciate the wonder of God’s salvation.

We delight In Pleasing Our Master 

When we see the great magnitude of Christ's sacrifice for us, when we realize the great need of many to hear the message, and when we envision what it will be like one day to stand before him as his bride, then we will be truly inspired and empowered to serve in his redeeming mission.

The Day is Almost Spent

The words of Jesus in Matthew 9:37 are still applicable, “The laborers are few.” Sadly only a few pastors, evangelists and churches are really soul conscious. How many congregations do you know that are really on fire for evangelism and missions? The very term soulwinning is now scorned among some. Evangelistic campaigns, special evangelistic days, public invitations and most anything that smells aggressively evangelistic is labeled, by some as "optional".

Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 9:38 are for us to, “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.” Many times pastors bemoan the fact that so few are surrendering for full-time Christian service. May I suggest that Matthew 9:38 calls for a prayer meeting. 

It has been my privilege to share the Gospel of Christ with people all over the world. Whether people are on the other side of the world or across the street, we need to share the story of Christ with them. This is not a time for Christians to hesitate, procrastinate or politicize about getting out the Gospel. There is a divine must written over the cross. The night is coming. The day is almost spent. The harvest is great, and the fields are white unto harvest. Christ may come at any moment.

Everyone needs the Gospel. God wants everyone to hear, and He has chosen to use us (The Local Church) to take to them His message. I thank the Lord that as we go, He goes with us. 

Mobilizing the Local Church

        A NON-TRADITIONAL MISSION          

Why is this non-traditional approach to missions the most effective? This approach is vital to world missions because more than half of the world’s population is cut off from traditional missionary work. Vast areas of North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia have little or no traditional missionary work due to government restrictions. Most inhabitants of the Islamic world, the Buddhist world, and the Hindu world will never hear the gospel from Western missionaries.
"Mission boards", which limit their ministry to the sending and supporting of American missionaries thereby neglecting half of the world’s population which has historically received the least gospel. Not to mention most countries that were open are now closing their doors to missionaries and mission agencies that do not include humanitarian efforts as a platform for evangelism.

Anywhere in the world, the national believer is the best person to reach his own people. He knows the language and the culture, and the local people trust and respond to him. There are no passports or work visa problems. He blends into his surroundings, not drawing attention to himself. He can work economically. National believers can cross borders, reaching into the inaccessible neighboring countries. "But if our gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost" 1Cor 4:3.

If Arabs are going to hear the gospel, most of them will respond if they hear it from another Arab. Therefore multiplying the national believers, who are actively serving, multiplies the impact that they can have to share the gospel with the lost.

The Chilando family's task in Zambia, Africa is to plant local churches that will provide quality biblical training to equip national believers for greater ministry and to train them to train others also. 

With our help and through your prayers and financial support, national believers will be equipped, sent out to evangelize and plant Churches (1Tim2:2).

Send all contributions to Hillcrest Baptist Church |4710 Hercules Ave| El Paso, Tx 79904

Top Seven: Where your faith will cost you the most

1. NORTH KOREA

No one is allowed to be a Christian in North Korea. Both North Korean borders are closed, and everything going in or out is strictly checked. Executions are done in secret, and the number of people sentenced to labor camp or prison has increased from last year.

2. SAUDI ARABIA

The kingdom is ruled by Sharia-law, a strict interpretation of the Koran. Those who convert from Islam can be executed, and many times family members of the accused carry out the honor killing. Public non-Muslim worship is prohibited and is punishable by imprisonment, deportation, and torture.

3. IRAN

Iran cracked down on house churches in 2008 with fifty Christians reportedly imprisoned for their faith. At least one Christian couple died after interrogation by government officials, due to injuries and stress from the captivity. The Iranian Parliament revised their apostasy law, making converting from Islam punishable by death only. While Christianity is an officially protected religion, Christians are not allowed to witness to Muslims, and many church services are monitored by secret police.

4. AFGHANISTAN

Because of intense pressure from the Taliban movement, it is nearly impossible to have an active church in the country. Christians have no protected rights and face government persecution when their faith is publicly known. One Christian aid worker was killed because the Taliban believed she was spreading Christianity. Despite this, Christianity is spreading in Afghanistan.

5. SOMALIA

Somalia has no working government, and Islamic Somali warlords rule with force. At least ten Christians were killed for their faith in 2008 and these are just known instances.

6. MALDIVES

In the archipelago of the Maldives, Islam is the official state religion and all citizens must be Muslims. A unified religion is seen as an important part of maintaining the government’s power. The government does not allow importation of any religious literature, apart from a single copy for personal use. Christians live in total secrecy.

7. YEMEN

The Yemeni Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but it also declares that Islam is the state religion and that Sharia is the source of all legislation. Expatriates are allowed to practice Christianity, but any Yemeni citizen may be executed for converting from Islam. 

Source: Open Doors World Watch List 2010

Tolerance or Pluralism

Dictionary Definition of Tolerance.

1.   A fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions and practices that differ from one's own.

2.   The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.

3.   Sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own.

4.   Lack of opposition for beliefs or practices differing from one's own.

5.   The act or capacity of enduring; endurance.

6.   The act of allowing something.

Tolerance as defined by culture is a myth, and worse, it is a smokescreen to stop churches from spreading the Gospel.

In April 2009, President Obama spoke at Georgetown University’s Gaston Hall. A monogram “IHS” which represents the name of Jesus and which normally perches above the stage in Gaston Hall where the President spoke, was covered over with black wood during the President’s address. University spokesman Andy Pino said, “In coordinating the logistical arrangements for the event, Georgetown honored the White House staff’s request to cover all of the Georgetown University signage and symbols.”⁹

Oprah Winfrey may be the most spiritually influential person in the US. One-third of those polled by beliefnet.com responded that “Winfrey has had ‘a more profound impact’ on their spiritual lives than their clergy persons,” and USA Today called Winfrey “a spiritual leader for the new millenia.”⁶

Winfrey has wielded her deep influence to promote Westernized New Age beliefs to her estimated 6.9 million viewers per day, but what does she think of a single way to God? As she said in one show, “there couldn’t possibly be just one way.” She is dogmatic in her lack of dogmatism. “I’m a free-thinking Christian who believes in my way,” Winfrey has said, “but I don’t believe it’s the only way, with 6 billion people on the planet.”⁷

And most Americans agree with Oprah. According to a 2008 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion, 70% believe “many religions can lead to eternal life.”⁸ Our country has shifted from a belief in religious tolerance to a belief in religious pluralism.

As the world grows more intolerant of biblical Christianity, there is more pressure on churches to compromise the Gospel. Many churches have neglected the message of salvation in favor of social causes—civil rights, environmentalism, political reform. These politically safe issues draw no criticism from the media.

But the church can never be accepted by the world without compromising the truth of God’s Word. Our message will always offend some people, even though it is preached with a spirit of love and kindness. Remember Jesus’ words, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18).

The answer to a culture which hates Christ is not to downplay Christ. We can never please the world without giving up that which makes us Christians.

As Christians, we must do our part to preach the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ around this world in these needy days!
We must also pray for our leaders and to take every opportunity to share the message of Christ and the uniqueness of His claims with each and every one of them. And finally, may we pray today for revival in our land as we seek God’s face in this needy hour.

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1. Gilgoff, D. (2009, February 29). A New Tradition for Obama’s Presidential Events: Opening With a Prayer. US News & World Report. Retrieved fromwww.usnews.com.
2. The New York Times. (2008, January 2). Catholic and Muslim leaders to meet in Rome. Retrieved from nytimes.com.
3. Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. (2009, December 9). Many Americans Mix Multiple Faiths. Retrieved from www.pewforum.org.

4.Banks, A.M. (2008, July 9). Oprah’s ‘gospel,’ influence concern some Christians. USA Today. Retrieved from www.usatoday.com.

5. Chappell, P. (2010, July 06). The Tolerance Myth. Retrieved from www.ministry127.com

CH CH. What's Missing? U R!

• Unreached and unevangelized: 90% of the people living in the 10/40 Window are unevangelized. Many have never heard the Gospel message even once. There are either no Christians or not enough of a "Christian movement" in many cultures of the 10/40 Window to carry out vibrant near-neighbor evangelism. If those groups are to be evangelized, believers will need to leave their own culture and enter another one where they will seek to plant the gospel, perhaps even learning a new language in order to communicate. Such cross-cultural evangelism is required because there are people groups with no churches that are understandable or relevant to them.
  • Good news: There's a difference between unreached and unreachable. In 1989 there were only four known Christians living in Mongolia That country now has an estimated 10,000 indigenous believers. Also, Christian television programming can now be received in many closed 10/40 Window nations.
• Poverty: Eighty-five percent of those living in the 10/40 window are the poorest of the world's poor.
• Good news: Christians delivered more than $1 million worth of food to just one 10/40 Window refugee camp in a recent year. In one North African country that is hostile to the Gospel, abundant rain fell after an Easter service. A local news channel reported, "Christians have brought rain to the desert."

Statistics

• 865 million unreached Muslim or Islamic followers in 3330 cultural sub-groupings
• 550 million unreached Hindus in 1660 cultural sub-groups
• 150 million unreached Chinese in 830 groups
• 275 million unreached Buddhists in 900 groups
• 2550 unreached tribal groups (which are mainly animistic) with a total population of 140 million
• Forming a smaller -- though important -- unreached group are the 17 million Jews scattered across 134 countries.

The question is: who's responsibility is it to reach the unreached? Who's responsibility is it to keep the so called reached or evangelized from slipping back into the unreacheable? If you know Christ as your personal savior you have a responsibility. You can Pray for God to send someone. You can give so that someone can go. You can Go. 

Doing nothing is not an option. Yet many are doing just that, hiding behind the curtain of institutional-ism (Someone else/ organization will cover my lack of participation). 

Do something if you call yourself a believer.