Last week I had the opportunity to attend the G3 (Gospel, Grace, & Glory) Conference in Atlanta. The theme of this year's conference was "The Mission of the Church." This is an important topic in an increasingly secular society and culture. In 2019, what is the mission of the Church (big "C" universal)? Why does this church (The Journey Church of Marietta), or any church for that matter, exist?
If you have questions about the Church, the best place to look for answers is within God's word. Jesus himself clearly and definitively establishes the marching orders for the Church just before his ascension when he delivers his Great Commission, which is recorded in the Gospels of Matthew (chapter 28), Mark (chapter 16), and Luke (chapter 24). The mission of the young Church (and to the Church today), according to Jesus, was to go and proclaim the Gospel (which literally means "good news") about him to all nations. Here the term "nations" doesn't refer to sociopolitical governments, but rather unique ethnic people groups.
According to the Joshua Project, an organization that works to identify and track the evangelization efforts around the world, there are currently over 17,000 people groups in the world. Of those, over 40% remain "unreached." This means that there is no Gospel presence at all among these people. Additionally, a much larger percentage, while being considered "reached" in some form, still lack any real significant, healthy, evangelical presence. That is to say that there are not healthy, active, growing, Gospel-proclaiming, disciple-making churches within these communities. Even more alarming is that many of the people on the front lines, that is missionaries actively serving among the nations, report that the numbers don't accurately tell the whole story and the situation is actually much worse. The reality is quite clear, every day, all around the world, in countries rich and poor alike, thousands, even millions of people are dying and going to Hell without ever hearing the free offer of salvation through Jesus Christ.
As Christians, this should be devastating to us. Quite honestly friends, we could be doing much better...and we need to be doing more! The problem, as I myself learned last week, is more complex than just apathy among the saints though. The entire model for effective missions has lost sight of the true calling of our Lord. First, missions efforts have departed from the Biblical commission to make disciples and have transformed into mostly humanitarian focused efforts. According to Dr. Voddie Baucham Jr., for every $1 devoted to planting Gospel-preaching churches, $5 goes to meeting the practical needs of these "unreached" or "barely reached" communities. True indeed, scripture commands us to give generously to meet the needs of the less fortunate, but the greatest need that anyone can ever have is their need to hear and respond in faith to the Gospel. What good is feeding the hungry or sheltering the homeless if in so doing you are merely prolonging the inevitable end that results in an eternity of torment and separation from God? Meeting temporal needs only provides temporary results. Meeting the greatest need has eternal significance.
Furthermore, statistics show that where the Gospel is proclaimed and healthy churches are established, the overall well-being of the community increases. In other words, churches comprised of grace-filled, Gospel-transformed believers, caring for the needs of one another within the church and for the needs of their community, according to the model we see throughout the book of Acts, have a greater impact on an area than even the most effective humanitarian efforts...and this impact is self-sustaining and reproducible. This is why we typically see the most rapid church growth occurring in some of the most impoverished areas of the world. For example, if current trends continue, in the near future, the greatest evangelistic missional effort in Europe will come not from the West, but rather from Africa, where the Church is exploding!
Secondly, the role of the local church in the mission of the Church has been willfully and carelessly handed over to parachurch organizations that, by definition, work independently of the authority and oversight of the local church. This doesn't mean that these ministry efforts are bad, but what it does mean is that the mission of the Church, as intended and commanded by King Jesus, is being offloaded to a secondary source. Why is this detrimental? First, because God, the creator of all things, and therefore the one who has ordained how they are to work, has not designed things to work this way. In every aspect of life and ministry, the best way is always God's way! Second, without the active participation of the local church in the raising up, training, resourcing/equipping, and sending out of men that are both spiritually qualified, according to scripture, and ordained with the full approval of the local church body, missionary efforts will continue to falter. We see clearly from the example of the missionary efforts of the Apostle Paul, as recorded in scripture, that he was raised up and sent out from the local church, that he depended on the local church for the resources needed to accomplish the work, and that he was accountable to and labored under the authority of the local church.
There is a great deal more to be said here, but space and time preclude me from continuing on. While my hope is that this information is helpful to you, the bigger question that needs to be answered in closing is, "What do I do now?" Now that we know, how are we to respond? Here are a few ways you can quickly begin helping:
1. Pray
On the Joshua Project website, you can find information about "unreached" people groups around the world (they even offer an app that highlights a new group every day). Commit to praying for those people groups. Find out about the missions efforts of your local church and pray for them. If you know specific missionaries serving around the world, pray for them. If you don't, just pray a general prayer for missionaries. Even if you don't know what to pray for, just be faithful to pray anyways. Scripture promises us that the prayers of God's people have great power (James 5:16).
2. Give
Ministry requires money and resources and these efforts need to be resourced from somewhere. Ideally, missions efforts will flow out of the local church, so giving to those efforts through your church specifically is best. Maybe there is someone in your church who may be being called to serve on the mission field, plant a church, or preach God's word. If so, support them in any way that you can. This is a wise and God-honoring investment of your resources. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul expresses his gratitude to them for their overwhelming generosity in providing for him in his missional efforts. Are there things we could live without, or with less of, so that we can be better resourced to give more to see the Gospel proclaimed to those who so desperately need to hear it? Are we stewarding well the resources God has entrusted to us? How we answer those questions reveals a great deal about what we value most in the world. Let me be the first to admit that I feel a great sense of personal conviction here! Additionally, giving isn't all about money. Give of your time and energy to get behind these efforts or to invest in mentoring and training up future pastors, preachers, evangelists, church planters, and missionaries. Pray for and encourage them as often as possible. They can't produce themselves!
3. Go
Maybe you feel called to serve in some way...perhaps even in vocational ministry. If so, that may be the Holy Spirit placing a special calling upon your life. If you think that may be you, be willing to step out in faith. Share it with your local church and allow them the opportunity to invest in you, to counsel you, and to help confirm (or deny) that calling upon your life. The greatest joy we can know is living in the center of God's will for our lives. That isn't, however, always easy to determine. This is why the local church plays such a vital role in raising up and sending out. I recently received counsel from a pastor about being discerning. He said that we should start by asking two questions. Is it moral? And is it wise? The first question is easier to answer, because God's word teaches us right from wrong. The second question is a much more personal question for each of us. Wisdom is found in the proper application of knowledge. Therefore, the question of, "Is it wise?", boils down to collecting as much information as possible and then carefully applying it to the question at hand. A truly wise person won't undertake such an important endeavor alone, but will instead surround themself with as much sound counsel as they can gather. This is where your brothers and sisters in Christ become so vitally important. In going, God doesn't promise a smooth and hazard-free road ahead, but he does promise to be faithful, good, steadfast, loving, merciful, and so much more!
Finally, let me conclude with Matthew 9:35-38:
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
In Grace,
Chris Morris
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