“Jesus said to them again, ‘...as the Father has sent me I also send you’” -John 20:21. This verse shows us Christ’s will for Christians to proclaim His Father’s word. But why would mission work be so important that the Holy One Himself would feel the need to implore Christians on His Father’s behalf to go forth and teach as Christ himself taught? The answer is simple, not encoded within the context of vague scriptures. In 1 John 2:2 the Bible says, “He himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not ours only, but also for the whole world”. With this logic it stands to reason that mission work is a necessity, for if our sins have been acquitted does it not also mean that we ourselves should share this way of miraculous salvation with those who need salvation that much more than we do? Throughout this essay we will delve deeper into the purpose of missions and God’s intent for missions. We will also take a look at one specific mission agency’s goal, purpose, and mission. Then to conclude we will view the results of the Gospel within North Africa, and challenges that missionaries face when among the inhabitants of the countries who are hostile to the teachings of the Gospel.
In the view of the facts, “A missionary is someone sent by Jesus Christ as He was sent by God” (Chambers). The primary goal of a missionary is to be loyal to the one whom they were called by, to accomplish and implement His plans, not their own selfish, fleshly desires (Chambers). Thus, a missionary is an individual who has committed their life, one who has been bound through union with the holy and righteous Lord, to the objective and ambition of the one who he calls Lord and the Master of his fate (Chambers). The propensity when considering the life of a g...
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...form of work a missionary might have to do in order to progress the Gospel for the Lord’s sake. We also looked at the goals and purposes that a typical mission agency can have. Finally, we concluded by taking a glimpse at mission work within a country, and how mission work must be carried out within hostile countries. So from this we see that God’s mighty work is prevalent even within hostile regions, and that mission work is a necessity for progressing the gospel.
Works Cited
Chambers, Oswald. My Utmost For His Highest. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Edwin, and Sylvia. "Missionary Interview." Personal interview. 28 Feb. 2014.
"Partners International | Connecting the Global Church to Reach the Least Christian and Least Resourced Places with the Gospel of Jesus Christ." Partners International. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
World Map. N.p., n.d. Web.
Missionary- A person who teaches their religion to other people who believe in something else
Dorothy L. Sayers defines a Christian’s work as a “...natural exercise and function of man- the creature who is made in the image of his Creator” (Sayers 194). Sayers summarizes her view on work by saying, “...it is the duty of the Church to see to it that the work serves God, and that the worker serves the work” (Sayers 198). Sayers finds the duty of work to rest not only with the Christian, but also with the church.
St. John, at his introduction in the novel, is a clergyman with plans to become a missionary someday soon. This is not surprising for clergymen, according to Andrew F. Walls, author of The Missionary Movement in Christian History, since "a missionary was essentially a preacher, and a preacher should normally be a minister" (161). At this time, it was considered normal for a clergyman to become a missionary. But a missionary did have to be more than a clergyman. He also must have "common sense" and "competence," Walls says. St. John has all of these qualities and more, making him perfect for a life of sacrifice.
The missionary expansion and their work within different nations is a dilemma of well intentions versus prosperity and power. Many missionaries remained out of politics and out of local culture and only served the communities for the better. They increased educational opportunities and provided medical care; most importantly they served to ensure the communities could actively participate in the international community. While the government and businesses reaped the rewards of increased prosperity and power, these rewards were in many ways not the purpose of missionary expansion but merely an outcome.
Oxbrow, Mark. "Anglicans And Reconciling Mission: An Assessment Of Two Anglican International Gatherings." International Bulletin Of Missionary Research 33.1 (2009): 8-10. Religion and Philosophy Collection. Web. 2 Nov. 2013.
“Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations,” is the essence of Christianity. Jesus Christ commanded his followers to go to all the directions of the world and share the good news. But how is one to do this when these nations are full of cultures and differences that these disciples had yet to encounter? Throughout the history of Christianity, we see many types of Christianities taking place through different forms of leadership, and hierarchy. To each, they contain their own views, ideas and concepts on how Christianity should look and what it should contain all the while trying to keep the very foundations of Christ’s teachings. But as the world continues to get older and grander, we begin to see the practices and factors of Christianity being weakened by the unnoticed acts of Jesus and his ideas of social cultural acceptances. By taking a look at the Chinese Rites Controversy, I will argue the importance of culture and the adaptation of culture in evangelical approaches.
Christianity has its challenges. It places demands on us that set us apart from the rest of our world. The bible calls us a peculiar people, who navigate the challenge of living IN the world, without being OF the world. When we say ‘no’ to temptations that are enjoyed by the masses, we are labeled as self-righteous snobs, religious weirdoes, or worse. But we persevere, and we press toward that invisible line the Apostle Paul drew in the sands of time…for the high calling in Christ Jesus.
Without this theology, not only the believer, but the missionary has no foundation to build upon. Believers in general, but especially missionaries must prepare themselves through prayer in order to lead churches to preach and teach the Word of God. Paul tells us in 1 Timothy that those that labor in preaching and teaching” should be considered worthy of double honor. (1 Tim. 5:17) This is important because Christian’s understanding their role as a believer, or again even more importantly, the role of a missionary is extremely vital in advancing God’s kingdom. Winter and Hawthorne rightly say in our text that “If we in the West insist on keeping our blessing instead of sharing it, then we will, like other nations before us (Israel, Rome, etc) perhaps have to “lose” our blessing in order for the remaining nations to receive.” Although there are times in today’s world that may seem like the world has turned their backs on God, Christian’s should look with great anticipation for the days that are coming when God will reclaim the earth and believers will be redeemed. The reason that believers practice missions is the end result. Redemption from sin, and receiving an inheritance from God including “full rights as sons” is only part of what is in store for the child of
Wuthnow, R. (2009). Boundless Faith: The Global Outreach of American Churches. California: University of California Press.
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