Your Mission...Should You Choose to Accept It
For many people supporting missions isn't a priority. The mindset can be, "I already tithe, that's enough." Often, it gets treated it like a tip: it's something extra we give when we feel like it. But, supporting missions is important and needs to be a priority to Christians.
The ultimate goal of missions is to spread the Gospel. In John 3:16 (NIV) Jesus says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." Jesus didn't just die so that you and I could be saved; He died so the world could be saved.
While everyone can come to Him for salvation, not everyone has the same level of opportunity to make that decision. According to the Assemblies of God World Missions Research Department, there are over 7,000 Unreached People Groups all over the world. A people group is identified as being unreached if less than 2% of the group is evangelical Christian. Currently, there are billions of people who are unsaved. (Stats were accessed on the day this post was published: http://beyondreached.com).
In Romans 10:9-14 Paul writes,
There is a difference between someone having the opportunity for salvation and someone never having heard the Gospel message. In the West, information about God is easily accessible, but it is not that way worldwide. Billions of people are still unreached and so cannot believe because they do not even know of the salvation available through Jesus. There are even still over a billion people who do not have the full Bible in their language. In fact, nearly 1,700 languages do not have any Scripture (stats were obtained from https://theseedcompany.org on the day this post was published). These people cannot believe in a God they have never heard of. Those who have heard of Him cannot obey and learn more about Him without knowing His Word.
In Matthew 28:19-20a Jesus tells His disciples, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." We have a responsibility to make sure disciples from all nations are made and to bring the Gospel to people who do not know it (and to those who do know it but who still do not understand or fully believe it). We are called to be a light to them. Missions involvement (whether through consistent prayer, financial giving, or going) is a responsibility to all who call themselves a disciple of Christ. Jesus died for the world and so the Gospel was meant to be shared with others all over the world.
The ultimate goal of missions is to spread the Gospel. In John 3:16 (NIV) Jesus says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." Jesus didn't just die so that you and I could be saved; He died so the world could be saved.
While everyone can come to Him for salvation, not everyone has the same level of opportunity to make that decision. According to the Assemblies of God World Missions Research Department, there are over 7,000 Unreached People Groups all over the world. A people group is identified as being unreached if less than 2% of the group is evangelical Christian. Currently, there are billions of people who are unsaved. (Stats were accessed on the day this post was published: http://beyondreached.com).
In Romans 10:9-14 Paul writes,
If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, 'Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.' For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile-the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of Whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?Missions address this concern through the intentional effort of spreading the Gospel to everyone around the world. It is important to make clear that I do not condone manipulation or forceful tactics in doing so. I believe it is the choice of the hearer whether they want to become Christian or not. I also believe that it is unjust for Christians to punish someone thereafter for that choice.
There is a difference between someone having the opportunity for salvation and someone never having heard the Gospel message. In the West, information about God is easily accessible, but it is not that way worldwide. Billions of people are still unreached and so cannot believe because they do not even know of the salvation available through Jesus. There are even still over a billion people who do not have the full Bible in their language. In fact, nearly 1,700 languages do not have any Scripture (stats were obtained from https://theseedcompany.org on the day this post was published). These people cannot believe in a God they have never heard of. Those who have heard of Him cannot obey and learn more about Him without knowing His Word.
In Matthew 28:19-20a Jesus tells His disciples, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." We have a responsibility to make sure disciples from all nations are made and to bring the Gospel to people who do not know it (and to those who do know it but who still do not understand or fully believe it). We are called to be a light to them. Missions involvement (whether through consistent prayer, financial giving, or going) is a responsibility to all who call themselves a disciple of Christ. Jesus died for the world and so the Gospel was meant to be shared with others all over the world.
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