“Missions is the province of every Christian, not just of specialists.” – On Being a Missionary

The very existence of the New Testament church is because we are suppose to be an evangelistic entity. The role of the pastor/teacher is for the “equipping of the body for the work of the ministry” (Eph. 4:12). It is the congregations role then to take the Gospel training that they receive on Sunday mornings (and other Bible studies) and take it to the nations starting in their neighborhood and extending to the ends of the earth. The Theology we learn on a Sunday morning is not for us to keep but the very nature of the Gospel is explosive and demands proclamation. Now to put this in context, not every christian is called to move to a foreign country and start a church. But EVERY Christian is called to be engaged in the Great Commission BOTH locally AND abroad.

In the book On Being A Missionary the author says, “Sometimes you see posters in churches that read: “A few go, some give, all pray.” That’s absolutely wrong! All go, all give, all pray. That is the biblical teaching.” This point can not be stressed enough. There is a lack of balance in our Theology of missions in the Western Church where we believe that missions is an arm of the church that is reserved for those adrenaline junky radicals that love to eat strange food. But that is not correct. Missions is the very reason why the church exists.