If there’s one thing the church of America does better than any other church in the world, it’s missions. No other church in the entire world has given more, sent more nor sown more than the church of America. The very fellowship I am affiliated with, the Assemblies of God, is the largest missions oriented fellowship in the entire world. My upbringing in the Assemblies of God is the very reason I support missions and have such a heart for it. I love missions; however, my heart is troubled for America. The truth is we’ve been so faithful going to the ends of the earth but right under our noses we are losing our own nation, our communities and our young people.
Until recent years, the United States has been a Christian nation. The United States has the largest population of Christians and more churches per capita than most of the world. For hundreds of years, missionaries could leave behind America for other countries knowing the homeland would be safeguarded and when they would return, they would find their communities and churches exactly how they left it. But this certainly isn’t the case anymore. While many missionaries today are leaving to pursue ministries in other countries, the United States is being left to spiritual deterioration. The moral condition of America has gotten so bad that foreign missionaries like Ray Comfort and John James are coming HERE to the U.S. to preach the gospel. America needing missionaries was unthought of thirty years ago but it’s not such a strange idea today because it is clear America needs missions just as much as any other country if not MORE.
Again, I am 100% FOR missions. Jesus’ final instructions to the church before ascending to heaven were the commands to “go” and to be “witnesses.” I believe one cannot be a genuine Christian without obedience to the Great Commission. There’s no question that we MUST be driven to share the gospel with the lost and be moved to compassion for the less fortunate but I must ask my fellow Christians in America this question, where is our concern and compassion for AMERICANS?
Dawson Trotman, founder of The Navigators, once preached a message entitled Born To Reproduce. In his message, he tells a story about twenty Bible college students aspiring to be missionaries. When interviewing these students for graduation, Trotman inquired of their daily devotional lives to which all but one said their devotional lives wasn’t where it should be. These students blamed their lacking prayer lives on busyness and school but it was clear not a single student was praying, “Lord, send me a man to share the gospel with.” Trotman was confounded that these students were willing to learn a foreign language, cross the ocean and live in another country yet they haven’t reached a single soul here in America.
One of my favorite past times is attending Christian concerts. For those who have never attended one, there is always a spokesperson from a nonprofit organization who takes up a collection during the intermission for needy children in foreign countries. I’m always pleased to see fellow Christians who are willing to pledge their Starbucks money to sponsor a child but I have to wonder, do we give much thought about our next door neighbors in bondage to sin or the homeless sleeping out in the cold? I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t always think about those around me nor have I been as vocal about my faith in the workplace as I should’ve been. I’ve shared my faith with a few coworkers but if hindsight has taught me one thing it’s that I could’ve and should’ve reached more. I’m confident that most of us would agree we ALL could do more to reach those around us.
In order for us to start reaching those around us, we must first understand that ALL born again Christians are called to missions.
“But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” II Timothy 4:5 NKJV
The Greek word Paul used for “evangelist” is a word that means “bringer of good news.” We are ALL called to be bringers of the Good News. You don’t have to go to another country to be a bringer of Good News. If you preach the gospel, no matter where you do it, you are doing the work of an evangelist/missionary.
Secondly, we must understand that missions begin at home.
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 NKJV
If you were to look at a map of Israel during the times of Christ, you will see that Jerusalem was the capital of Judea and Samaria was Judea’s neighbor to the north.
Jesus specifically listed these three regions before getting to the famed part “to the ends of the earth.” Jerusalem was their epicenter of missions and you can clearly see the gospel was meant to propagate outward from Jerusalem. But before the disciples could be witnesses to the ends of the earth, they first had to be witnesses in Samaria, and before Samaria Judea and before Judea Jerusalem. Missions must begin in the local community before it can expand outward. To help drive home the point, your Jerusalem is the city or town you call home. Your Judea is the state or province you live in. Your Samaria are the states and provinces surrounding the state or province you live in. And the “ends of the earth” speaks for itself!
Lastly, we must understand that the missions field isn’t just some village in Africa or an uncivilized tribe hidden deep in the jungles of the Amazon. The missions field is EVERYWHERE. The missions field is your workplace. It’s your school or college campus. It’s the houses on your street. It’s the local grocery store. It’s your local government. It’s the towns within driving distance. It’s your country. It’s the world. Missions is where your feet are. THIS is the real truth about missions. America has been neglected for too long so let it not be said of you or I that we saved another country but lost ours doing it. Let’s take back our local communities and country for Jesus!
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV
Joshua Hawk 