We have spoken about being involved in mission over the last few weeks. But most of us are usually at a bit of a loss how to go about mission. That is because we usually think of it as an over there thing. Something that someone on the mission field does but we don’t. We do church, or we do bible study or we do youth group but we don’t perceive that we do mission. Well we know we do but it doesn’t sink into our psyche.
We are supposed to, and in reality many of us do without realising it. Some may call it witnessing, others evangelising, or maybe sharing but they are part of mission. In fact, witnessing, evangelism, and outreach are processes of our mission. The one thing though, often we aren’t is strategic about it. That can either be a strength, if we mission without thinking about it or a weakness if we haphazardly and uncontrolledly attempt our mission. Today I want to talk further about personal mission and personal local mission.
So how do we do mission personally and locally?
A couple of points that may clarify our thinking.
- Be involved with people. Our community is our mission field. Agreed. Then we need to involved in community. I don’t just mean go to things, but be involved with the people. For example. Don’t go and listen to the choir – be in it. Don’t go and watch the sport, get involved, don’t pay a sponsorship for fundraising – have a go yourself.
Is this biblical? Or is this the Pastor John idea of evangelism?1CO 9:19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
Yeh, it says be like them, be involved with them. Lets re translate this. To the sport minded I become a sport enthusiast to win the sports minded, to the car nut I become a car nut to win the car nuts, to the mum’s looking after there kids I become like a mum looking after my kids to win the mums and the kids. See the principle. And we have in our society a huge range of things to be involved in. Your passions just could become your mission field.
One of our churches biggest strengths is its diversity of community involvement. one of our weaknesses is our community involvement. One of our biggest threats is our community involvement, One of the treats we face is our community involvement. See what I am saying here is how we utilize what we are involved in determines its outcome.
It is strange that we train our missionaries in subjects like cultural anthropology, cultural understandings, contextualization of ministry and teach them to understand and get involved in the culture they will be ministering to yet we don’t bother to investigate our own culture. Let’s be realistic here, we don’t know our society’s culture and the longer we are Christians the further from our culture we get. We live in an unreal state of somewhere between earth and heaven, involving ourselves with things that our culture and society don’t understand and actually enjoying them. Let me give you an example.
Worship – our culture just doesn’t get it. To the average Aussie it is just singing and stuff, but to us it is part of the conversation with God, it is us giving Him credit for who He is. The longer we are Christians the more we get what worship is about and the more we get into it. But the local who isn’t a Christian doesn’t get it. We have actually developed our own culture. Technically a sub culture but we don’t need to get into that. And as I said the longer we are Christians the further we get from our local unchristianised culture.
But we need to understand where people are coming from to minister to them.We need to at least investigate and make ourselves aware of our mission field.
Some simple questions about our culture.i. What is the largest participant sports in
- Say the word.
At some stage, we actually have to tell people about Jesus. It doesn’t go out in some form of osmosis. We can’t just live a good witnessing life and hope people get it. You actually have to say it.
Any way, they have to hear it. 1TH 2:13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.They have to hear it from someone. It may as well be you. Sure you can bring them to church, yep, good option, but most of what happens in church is for those who already believe. We like church to be for us. So we need to at least prepare people before they come. It’s a bit of a shame it’s like that. In the old days it was worship service in the morning and a gospel service at night. That’s a good idea. We could go back to it although I don’t think that Sunday night is the optimum time slot for Yeoval, but we do need to have a steady flow of people who need to hear that message.
Anyway, but what do I say to people?i. What the bible says. AC 2:22 “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on himHey, we call it the gospel, the good news about Jesus. If it is such good news why don’t we talk about it more? Let me say that again; If it is such good news why don’t we talk about it more? What is your excuse for not talking about Jesus? Don’t think they’ll be interested. Not interested in living forever. Think it will make you sound like a wally. Chances are they already think that, or maybe you think they’ll laugh. If they die this week they wont be laughing at you but cranky that you never shared it with them. The bible says it, so say it.
ii. What Jesus has done for you. Personal testimony. Here is some homework. Write out how you got to know Jesus. Then Write out what God is doing in your life. That’s what you tell people about.
iii. Bring up God in conversation. If God is interesting to you, talk about Him. A funny thing here. At Armidale I used to have morning tea with a bunch of guys who were house dads. The group was called men with prams, and I would take
While we need to bring God into the conversation – often others will do it for you.
- Get strategic.
What I mean by this is; Think through who you want to spend time in heaven with. If you want to see them in heaven, think of ways of introducing them to Jesus. I suppose it too means getting passionate. We need to realise there are people in our lives that need to know God. Find a way to do it. If you need to, talk to me, we can come up with some ideas. That is what the list is about. Sure there are some programs there but the purpose of those programs is to be part of the drawing people to God but of our church purpose statement.
Bring them to church or some program we have on, introduce them to other Christians, find Christians with similar interests so they can minister to them.
It is thinking it through, its nothing out of our range or nothing that takes special skills just thinking and prayer to a God who answers.
A lot of people talk to me about church growth, some are cynical that church growth is not possible here in Yeoval because if the lack of critical mass. Not enough people in town to grow. How to get more young people to church, and if we did this program or that more would come, or if the music was newer more would come or if the music was hymn, others would come. That’s all a lot of rubbish. If we as a people of God, did what God wanted, the walls would fall down, figuratively speaking. One thing I read, actually it was on my notice board in my office in Armidale when I went there. The previous pastor Ian Duncan, left it behind. It is a graph titled “What brings people” the figures show that 1.5% of people come to church because they were visited.1.5% because they had a need2.5% because they walked in2.5% because of the programs run (Hey, there is as much chance that someone will just walk off the street as if there is a program happening.4.5% because of Sunday School5.5% because the pastor is coolbut get this81.5% because they were invited.
This type of mission maybe micro mission but it is the kind of mission that the early church did. But someone has to do the mission.
Romans 10:13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” RO 10:14 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? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
So I am sending you now. You are now sent, commissioned, ordained go for it.
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