On Mission with God

On mission with God

A while ago we focused in a sermon series on “Missio Dei”, which is Latin for “The mission of God”. When we read the Scriptures and understand the message of the Bible, it is clear from the first page in Genesis to the last page in the Book of Revelation that God is on a mission to save this world that He created!

It’s interesting to note that most corporates, businesses and organizations have a “mission statement”, referring to their main focus or main business. It helps them to clearly focus on what their real business is and therefore to not get distracted by unimportant issues. For several years now, there are experts who help organizations and businesses to decide, write and refine their mission statement, usually at great cost to the company or organization.

Many churches have also developed and accepted their own local mission statement. This is a good exercise since it provides them with a clear focus of what they are about, what they should get involved in, and even limit what they try to do. However, there is also a sense in which the main focus of any local church has already been given to us, namely to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a lost world. It means joining God in what He is doing in this world. God’s mission is our mission.

This is why the recent visit by a group of leaders and students from North Carolina should be an encouragement to us. The six students in the group are “just regular” people who paid their own way to respond to an opportunity to share the Gospel in different ways in a country none of them ever visited before. It reminded me that every Christian is on a mission to serve God, to share his love and the message of the Gospel of hope with people in need of salvation. Missions is not only for people in full-time service. In fact, pastors and missionaries often do not have the regular contact with people in the world in the same way as those who are in regular corporate or secular jobs.

Thank you to all who made an effort to accommodate and befriend the Gardner-Webb University team. They were a great help to us and we pray that they have been encouraged and challenged in their faith too.