Mission: How local churches go to the world

Mission

Meaning of the word: In its traditional, historical usage, “making disciples of all nations.” This is the unique and conscious evangelical mission of the Church. That is, preaching the gospel across racial, linguistic and geographical boundaries and calling people, who are saved by the Lamb, to become disciples.

Missionary

Using the historical and traditional concept of missionary, that is, a missionary is a person recognized and sent out by a local church to preach the gospel and to gather, to serve, and to strengthen the local church beyond the boundaries of race, language, or geography.

In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas started their missionary journey. It was because of the worship, fasting and prayer of the church in Antioch. With the support of the church in Antioch, the Holy Spirit assigned Paul and Barnabas as missionaries, the church prays for them and sends them out, and funds their journey with money and prayers. After that, Paul returned to the church in Antioch twice to encourage the brothers and sisters in the local church; and on his third missionary journey, he wrote to the local church in Rome, asking the church to sponsor him to go to Spain. Preach the gospel where the name of Christ has not yet been preached. So here we are: In this way, we see local churches sending out, shepherding, and supporting men and women engaged in global missions. The local church is a unique evangelical community established by Jesus Christ Himself. Therefore, we should especially be committed to our unique mission of defending the gospel, proclaiming the gospel, and making disciples of those who respond to the gospel with repentance and faith.

Facts we must bear in mind

The Mission is Divine: for His glory, and the mission of the redemption of the earth is ultimately for the glory of God. The Mission is Divine: because of the glory of God, the Great, Holy and Almighty God, He will personally accomplish the salvation of all people. The Mission is Divine: as long as we are willing to obey the Great Commission promulgated by the Lord Jesus Christ, the God of Emmanuel will be with us at all times. God has entrusted missions to every local church! The local church—should faithfully fulfill God’s mission! Global missions – primarily through local churches! The local church—is where missionaries are sent! The local church—a place that cares about missionaries! The local church must be the center for equipping, training, sending, and supporting missions.

Mission – the initial starting point

Sometimes we often think first—spending time studying world maps, demographic data, reading stories of missionary service, or thinking about the needs of the lost—while these are useful, are not the initial starting point.

Participate in specific preparations for missions

The first thing is not to learn missionary work, but to learn to be pious to God, rooted in Bible knowledge, enthusiastic about preaching the gospel, passionate about the church and willing to serve, and passionate about the glory of Christ. Then missionary work becomes a matter of course and natural. Something happened. If possible—we should also seek to encourage our congregants to participate in evangelistic ministry abroad. However, it is important to remember that extensive travel and international experience are not prerequisites for missionary work, but a love of the gospel, a faithful life, a strong support for the church, and a willingness to do it. Missionaries are not travellers with a passport to the world. The best missionaries tend to go to a place and stay there, sometimes even for the rest of their lives. Of course, some people can engage in cross-cultural evangelism without getting on a plane. In the city we live in now, there is no shortage of such good opportunities for evangelism. Not only that, if a Christian is willing to seize the opportunity to preach the gospel, he has the possibility of participating in cross-cultural evangelism ministry. When we commit to sending or supporting missionaries, we should expect that our efforts will be serious, meaningful, and sacrificial. Whether giving directly to missionaries or through some cooperative missionary agencies, our goal should be to provide workers with adequate supplies so that they lack nothing. Churches should partner with appropriate mission agencies that can help churches send missionaries to difficult places that most churches cannot reach alone. Uphold the responsibility of the local church: Whether sending missionaries directly or through an agency, the local church should insist on being responsible for the welfare of those who are sent.

Meaningful Short-Term Missions 

The purpose of each short-term mission is to benefit the ministry of long-term missionaries and local believers. Approach short-term missions with a clear vision of long-term ministry: The ultimate goal is that your short-term missions ministry will one day enable members of your own church to settle long-term in the places you are committed to supporting. Occasional short-term missions: You can often send people there multiple times a year to visit, distribute Bibles, or show gospel movies, or even participate in rescue work. Through this process, they begin to truly understand the area and its people.

Prepare for short-term missions

1. Focus on God being glorified among all nations.
2. Be humble and obedient to the workers on site.
3. Be prepared to be exhausted: Being overseas, jet-lagged, and being in an unfamiliar environment can be exhausting both physically and mentally. But when we think about it, it is the fatigue of dedicating ourselves to the kingdom of God, and this fatigue reminds us of the value of the gospel.
4. Be adaptable: A mission trip will almost certainly not go as you planned. Remind yourself that your ultimate goal is not to complete some mission, but to encourage your brothers and sisters who have sacrificed so much for the gospel. We can best encourage them by doing the things they find most motivating, even if those things differ from our preferences or plans.
5. Be a learner: Be humble enough to realize that you don’t know everything and be prepared to ask questions and learn. Don’t assume that just because you know how to do something well at home, you’ll also know how to do it in another environment. Show respect for those who live in a different culture by asking them questions and always learning from them.
6. Encouragement: We must encourage missionaries in various ways.
7. Serve generously: Cooperate with those who go out for the Lord’s name and support them in a manner worthy of God. Therefore, be prepared to care generously for God’s workers, even beyond what is reasonable.
8. Low maintenance cost: During short-term mission trips and overseas, we often encounter all kinds of wonderful and beautiful scenery. We have every reason to enjoy such time, as long as it does not increase the burden on the people we want to serve. But we need to be alert to this and be prepared to give up things that may please you in order to serve those you want to bless.
9. Be patient: In many countries, transportation can be frustrating and inefficient. Many cultures develop at a different rate than our own. By being patient and trusting God, even when things don’t go the way we hoped.
10. Focus on God being glorified among the nations. Fill your hearts and minds with the life-changing grace given by the gospel, and let this grace blend into your words and actions to become a blessing to all, to the glory of Christ. Finally – as we engage in and carry out missionary work, we need to have an urgent faith. Although we may be limited by external environmental conditions and unable to personally
    participate in missions, we need to understand missions, care about missions, and participate in missions with money and prayers.

A healthy church must be a church that supports missions to the world.

(Extract from 9 Mark website https://cn.9marks.org/book/missions-chs)