Your church may be familiar with the word “missions” but may not understand exactly what it means for them. They may think of missionary families living in Africa or the mission trips their teenager goes on, but they might not fully understand that it applies to them, too. They might not understand that it is commanded of them. God commands each and every one of us to take the gospel to the nations.
In one of our Ministry Grid training videos, Micah Fries discusses ways to encourage everyone in your church to understand their role in missions. According to Micah, many people may feel inadequate in their capabilities and consider reaching the nations “Missions Impossible.” However, God gives us clear instructions to go, serve, and spread His word. He has made us all capable, and has commissioned us to do so. If we neglect reaching the nations, we are neglecting the word of God.
God’s greatest passion is to advance the gospel among the nations. God desperately wants for His people to know Him, understand His compassion, and rejoice in His name. It is His greatest passion for us. As we grow in our walk with the Lord, He desires for our hearts for the nations to grow with it. Our hearts should be so full for the Lord, that our hearts for the nations should mirror that fullness.
God has designed humanity to join Him on mission to reach the world. In our flaws and imperfections, God has called each of us to spread His word. He uses sinners to advance the gospel and bring Him glory. He has commissioned the church to make disciples, not just converts. We are called to share and scatter our faith across the nations, to the unreached people. Jesus promises that when we follow this command the help of the Holy Spirit is with us. By spreading the gospel to the nations, we have the help of the Lord on our side, we are advancing the kingdom, and fulfilling our mission to make disciples.
To read the remainder of the article, and to watch the Ministry Grid training video, click here.
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Daniel Im (@danielsangi) is the Director of Church Multiplication for NewChurches.com at LifeWay Christian Resources. He is a Teaching Pastor at The Fellowship, a multisite church in Nashville. He is the author of No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry, and co-author of Planting Missional Churches: Your Guide to Starting Churches that Multiply (2nd ed) with Ed Stetzer. He also co-hosts the New Churches Q&A Podcast, the 5 Leadership Questions Podcast, and a brand new podcast with his wife on marriage and parenting called the IMbetween Podcast. He has an M.A. in Global Leadership and has served and pastored in church plants and multisite churches ranging from 100 people to 50,000 people in Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, Korea, Edmonton, and Nashville. Visit Danielim.com to learn more.
