Every Christian a World Christian, part one

Ingrained in the minds of many Christians is the idea that to be involved in mission work means one thing only: living overseas long-term. This is a limited way to approach missions because it excludes most people from being involved. Even those that go long-term will eventually come home and need to appropriate their vision in another way. If it is an attribute of God to desire the redemption of all nations, then it must be cultivated into every one of His followers as an attribute. That is why it is vital to the Church that other avenues of missions involvement are explored. The following five habits are not to be viewed in terms of "which one is for me?" The idea is that a person who prioritizes God's global plan will do all or most of them.

The main habits are:

1. Going
2. Praying
3. Sending
4. Welcoming
5. Mobilizing

Going“The calling of the missionary to the heathen is a glorious high calling. He who thinks himself above it, ought not to call himself a follower of Christ” – Samuel Mills, 1806

This habit is most commonly associated with missions. In the past and even still today, when someone thinks about missions, going is the most natural association. A definition of the goer is the person physically present, laboring cross-culturally on the mission field. Going may mean a short-term trip or an extended amount of time. Ultimately, the goer is willing to completely immerse himself in an unfamiliar culture with the intention of furthering the Gospel in that culture. The best goers tend to be characterized as innovative, low maintenance, steadfast, and persevere with little fellowship.

In Exodus 3:7-10, God mentions nine different times to Moses that He is concerned with the Israelites and their condition as slaves and is getting ready to bring them into the Promised Land. During this discourse, God makes one reference to Moses himself. Look at Moses' reaction: "But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’" (Ex. 3:11). Doesn’t this sound like us sometimes? Our temptation is to focus on ourselves and our insufficiency! We think there is no way God could want us involved and so many of us never enjoy the blessing of participating. Look at God's reaction; He puts the focus back on Himself in the next verse by saying, "I will be with you" (Ex. 3:12). Before Robert Morrison left to be the first Bible translator in China, someone asked if he really thought he could change the 2,000 year problem of idolatry in China. His response was, "No I don't, but I expect God can." It is not so much about our ability but instead our availability.

I can remember just after I graduated from college, when a friend of mine said, “Hey Todd, come with me to North Sudan to share the gospel with Muslims.” I said, “I am not ready!” He said, “No problem… you’ve got 20 minutes.” What was I waiting for? For some, we assume we have to be pretty close to perfect spiritually before we can move forward. This is paralyzing to so many potential goers who, in reality, would be great cross-cultural workers. As you begin to consider going on a short-term trip, it will be natural for you to look at your abilities (or inabilities) and become discouraged. It is at this point you must be reminded, "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him" (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). In light of this truth we are all overqualified!

Praying"I used to think that prayer should have the first place and teaching the second. I now feel it would be truer to give prayer the first, second and third places and teaching the fourth." - James O. Fraser

Another passage that challenges us to pray for the world is found in Matthew 9:36-38. It says, "When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'" Jesus saw the vastness of lost souls compared to the scarcity of the laborers and He looked to the disciples and said, "Ask." What a powerful image! Not go, or preach, or have a conference, but to ask. It is hard to read this passage and not get convicted about your prayer life. Let's evaluate our own prayer lives and see if we come to God with only our desires or if we are concerned with His. It is said that the average Christian prays 2 minutes a day. I have to say…that could be high! Think about two things: (1) how often do we pray, and (2) what is the content of that prayer? Obviously, we need to pray for ourselves and yes, we need to lift up our family and friends, but God also desires that we join together and intercede on behalf of all nations and beg Him to send forth laborers into the field. What would it take to truly see a prayer movement in your heart of purposeful intercession for the nations that would spill out to your community?

Consider asking three or more of your friends to start a Global Prayer Team.  The booklets are available free from the IMB’s Student Mobilization Team.  You can call 1-800-999-3113 ext. 1363 or email studentteam@imb.org to order.

Sending"Do not think me mad. It is not to make money that I believe a Christian should live. The noblest thing a man can do is, just humbly to receive, and then go amongst others and give." - David Livingstone

The Apostle Paul has an interesting observation: "And how can they preach unless they are sent?" (Rom. 10:15). The unreached do not have a chance at hearing the Gospel if there are not people on the home front funding and praying for those that are going. It is like asking the question, "which is more important – the rescuer who goes down into the well to save a life or the man at the top holding the rope?" You can't have one without the other. There was a principle in Israelite warfare, "The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike" (1 Sam. 30:24-25). Why? Because they are equally important in God's army.

In our culture we think we are entitled to live at whatever standard matches our income. Our reasoning is that since a person makes $80,000 a year they should live at $80,000. When a person gets a raise, their standard of living gets a raise too! But the World Christian should have a different mindset. Maybe when a Christian gets a raise or comes into unexpected financial gain, God intends that person to be a resource for someone else! This thinking is so contrary to American culture.

The responsibilities of a sender are critical to the mission task and the activities are diverse. The most obvious aspect of sending is giving of one's financial resources to support a missionary, but giving is certainly not the only facet of sending. A sender may work in one or all the following specialized roles: logistics, prayer coordination, communications, research, finances, or re-entry coordinator. A specialist in logistics deals with the practical side of sending. They deal with packing the missionary's goods, travel plans, cost and acquirement of items needed on the field. The prayer coordinator can find specific prayer needs based on research, missionaries in the field and missions societies. They are also needed to enlist others in intercessory prayer for the team and organize special prayer meetings. For prayer needs to be known, a communications specialist is enormously helpful. It is their responsibility to open lines of communication to the team so that prayer requests and equipment and other needs are known. Sending is neither glamorous nor easy. The task of dealing with the day-to-day, behind the scenes tasks of mission work may even seem thankless, but it is not without reward.

This is a seemingly difficult habit for young adults to develop because they always feel broke! But the point is not the amount that is given. The point is that they are building a habit of sacrifice. Bill Stearns in his book, Run With the Vision, has a few observations regarding the sender.

“How different are World Christians from other Christians? In some ways, very little. They still spend much of their time doing day-to-day chores, filling their role in life (being a parent, spouse, friend), fulfilling the requirements of a job, fixing things around the house. They too work on character issues in their own life… But in other ways, they are very different. The World Christian uses his free time differently, keeping in mind a global perspective…He spends his finances wisely, freeing up more money for the global expansion of the kingdom. He always envisions how his ministry and activities can somehow result in eventually having an impact in the nations.

Living a World Christian lifestyle as a sender doesn’t mean taking a vow of poverty – since poverty isn’t necessarily spiritual and wealth isn’t necessarily unspiritual. But being good stewards of money as we seek first the Kingdom of heaven is definitely a mark of a World Christian sender…the lifestyle of a globally significant sender isn’t mostly about money. It’s about character.”

I believe Bill is right on the mark. May we say, “Lord, I hold my wallet with an open hand!”

Follow-Up Questions

1.       List below the ways you have been a goer, pray-er, or sender in the past.

Goer:

Pray-er:

Sender:

2.       Are you living any of the five habits right now? Which one(s) and how?

3.       How do you plan to live the five habits? List one specific action you will do for each habit.

4. What are some questions or concerns you have about being a World Christian?

GOER QUESTIONS1. 1

1. How are you a goer right now?

2. How might you be a goer in the future?

3. What would hinder you from going to the mission field in the future?

4. What questions do you have about the World Christian habit of going?

PRAY-ER QUESTIONS

1.       How are you a pray-er right now?

2.       What do you usually pray about? Are your prayer requests usually focused on yourself or on God’s heart for the nations?

3.       Write below a prayer that reflects God’s heart for the nations.

4.       Commit to pray at least once a day for God to send out laborers to the harvest fields among the unreached peoples of the world.

SENDER QUESTIONS

1.    How are you a sender? If you don’t think you are practicing the habit of sending right now, list some ways you could become a sender.

2.       What area of sending most appeals to you (financial supporter, prayer coordinator, logistics coordinator, re-entry coordinator)?

3.       How will you be a sender in the future?

adapted from thetravelingteam.org.

Part two coming soon...