One Mission of Local Churches

A picture of Nepalese taken in our recent mission trip to Nepal.

Recently, I went on a mission trip to Nepal along with my brothers in Christ. We saw tremendous needs in this land. There are places without gospel and churches. There is no proper community development and growth. There are no sound moral values. People are living in utter darkness, for there is no Christ in them.  

I know this pathetic situation is obvious also in many parts my nation, India. It is apparent in other countries too. As I think about the plight of the nations, my heart painfully questions, “What are the local churches doing for Christ in their nations and beyond? What is their mission?”

It seems many local churches are absorbed in their own programs, events and formal services. A couple of them are wallowing in doctrines without having passion for missions. Some churches are passionately focused on gaining more numbers and making their church appear big.

All these local churches are forgetting their one significant mission, and that mission is to send missionaries to the unreached and needy places. Of course, there is a need even to send missionaries to the affluent nations which are spiritual dry and dead.

Are the local churches realizing this great privilege and responsibility?

Sending missionaries is not just the responsibility of mission agencies. In fact, in the early church, if we carefully study the book of Acts, we don’t find mission agencies. We see only local churches. These local churches were missional, sending missionaries to spread the gospel of Christ and planting more churches.

For instance, we see the believers who were scattered from the church in Jerusalem, travelling as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the gospel of Christ and paving way for church planting (Acts 8:1, 4; 11:19ff). Now when multitudes of people turned to the Lord in Antioch, ready for church planting, it is written, “The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch” (Acts 11:22). It was the local church in Jerusalem which played an active role in spreading the gospel and in planting churches.

We also learn that the Holy Spirit spoke and the church in Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:1ff). And there might be many missionaries sent out from the early local churches which were not recorded, for the book of Acts is essentially a historical record of the Acts of the Apostles.

One thing we observe reading the book of Acts—the early churches were missional. Sadly, the modern churches have become ceremonial.

Considering the tremendous needs around us, I wonder, “What if every local church endeavors to send one missionary once in every year? If it is difficult, sending one missionary at least once in every two or three years?” How much of the gospel would spread! How many churches would be planted! How many communities would be transformed! O, there would be incredible results on earth and joy in heaven!

May God have mercy on the local churches and send revival in them to awaken them to see the needs around and send missionaries to spread the gospel, to plant churches and to develop communities. What great things can be accomplished for Christ if the believers in the local churches are equipped for ministry and from among them, some are sent as missionaries!

I understand, pastors play a key role in triggering such missional movement in the churches. So I plead with them in the Name of Jesus Christ to take the task of missions seriously and commit themselves to make their local churches missional for the glory of God.

To share as an encouragement to you about the grace of God in our lives—just after finishing a year of planting our local church, Assembly of Living Witnesses, the Lord has given us the grace to send our first missionary couple to a needy place in Maharashtra, a state in the western region of India.

We are a small community but we are praying and planning to send many missionaries from our local church. By God’s grace, some of the brothers are already willing and expressed their desire to go as missionaries. I know there is a huge price to be paid. It calls for sacrifice, suffering and self-denial. But let us remember—the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is inimitably greater than all our sacrifices. Moreover, greater the sacrifice for Christ greater the reward in the kingdom of God. Hallelujah!

Our local church is committed to missions. Life is short and lived only once in this world and we don’t want to waste it. Our passion as a local church is to spread the glory of God among the nations by sending missionaries to the nations. Even the elders of our church are willing and ready to go as missionaries wherever God sends and enables them to go. Soli Deo Gloria!

We believe, every local church is called to be missional. Are we, the local churches, willing to become what God has called us to be, making a difference in the nations for the glory of God?

When there are so many places and peoples without Christ and hope of eternal life, this is not the time for the local churches to settle in their own world and snore in their comforts. Let us rise and shine by sending missionaries for Christ!

Do not forget, one primary mission of local churches is to send missionaries. Are we willing to equip the saints and send them as missionaries?

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Enquiries: 

cstephendavid@gmail.com (or) messageforourage@gmail.com

Why the Local Churches Should Be Missional? [Part One]

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Note: On 15th June 2014, our young church had a farewell ceremony as the Lord has used us to send our first missionaries to an unreached place in Maharashtra. The following is the message delivered on this occasion.

Introduction

A local church should not only be a praying community, a worshiping assembly and a loving fellowship; it should also be a missional community. Without being missional, a church is still incomplete in its existence and function. In fact, it is dysfunctional.

Our modern day churches are busy having church programs and focusing on gaining large numbers under one structure but neglecting one important thing, i.e. missions. By using the term “missions”, I mean, “spreading the gospel of Christ and planting churches.”

When we look at the Holy Scripture, particularly the book of Acts, it is hard to ignore observing the missional work of the Holy Spirit through the local communities of Christ. Remember, there were no mission organizations in the early church; a local church was itself a missional community.

Why missions is so important to local churches?

Three Facts 

Fact One: God exists for Himself, for His own glory. The Lord says, “For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned?  My glory I will not give to another” (Isa. 48:11).

We learn from the word of God that God exists for Himself and for His own glory. He will not give His glory to another. Indeed, for God to be God, He has to exist only for Himself, for His glory. It may come as a surprise but it is sin on the part of God to exist for anything other than Himself.

Why God exists for Himself?

In order for God to exist for something else, that thing should exist eternally. But since God alone exists eternally [nothing exists before Him or after Him], and since all things have come later into existence because of the creation by the eternal God, God has to eternally exist for Himself.

Further, if God exists for something else other than Himself, that thing becomes greater than God, for that becomes the purpose for His existence. Since there is no one greater than God, no purpose is superior than His own, God has to exist for Himself.

As God alone is eternal and sovereign, it is the right of God to exist for His own glory. He cannot exist for anything else because there is nothing there which exists without Him.

Fact Two: God has created us for His glory. The Lord says, “Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made” (Isa. 43:7). It is also written, “All things were created through Him and for Him” (Col. 1:16).

The message is obvious from the above Scriptures—We do not exist on earth for ourself, i.e. for our ambitions, our career, our personal pleasures and happiness, not even for our family. We exist only for the One who created us for Himself. Life is meaningless, purposeless and joyless unless we know and live by this fact.

Considering the fact that God has created us for Himself, some suppose it as a selfish act. Imagine, if the president of United States of America chooses me for himself and to serve him as His secretary, how will I view this opportunity? Would I say, “You know, the president of America is a very selfish person. He chose me for himself. He appointed me as his secretary”? It requires insanity to say this.

A sane person would be excited and expresses, “Hurray! You know, I am president’s secretary. He chose me for himself. What a great privilege and honor it is to serve the president.”

Now think, the Lord of all the princes of the earth, the Maker of the heavens and earth, the Creator of the whole universe, says, “I have created you for Myself.” Is it not a great privilege and honor to live for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords?

Fact Three: All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. The Scripture says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

What does it mean “fall short of the glory of God”? It means that all of us have fallen from the glorious purposes of God. We have forsaken to live for Him and began living for ourself. We are not living for His glory but for our own glory. We have given up His glorious standards and living by our own feelings and thoughts.

In short, man is not living for the purpose for which God has created him, i.e. for the glory of God, and thus committed sin against Him. Know—sin is nothing but living against the purpose for which God has created us.

The Remedy

So, what is the solution? How can man live according to the purpose for which he was created? How can he be restored back to live for the glory of God?

There is only one answer: THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST JESUS IS THE ONLY REMEDY FOR MAN’S TRAGEDY.

The Lord Jesus has become a man, lived an exemplary life on earth, suffered for our sins, offered His body as a sacrifice, shed His precious blood, gave His life on the cross and has risen from the dead. The Lord had done all these things for one purpose—to reconcile man to God so that man would live again for the purpose for which God created him, i.e. for the glory of God (2 Cor. 5:18, 15).

Salvation, which is received through the gospel of Christ, is nothing but the restoration of man to live for the glory of God.  [Click here to go to Part 2 of this article...] |  1 of 2 

Why the Local Churches Should Be Missional? [Part Two]

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Mission of Local Church

If the gospel of Christ Jesus is the only remedy, which is the only community on earth to spread this gospel? Upon whom is the responsibility laid to carry the gospel of Christ?

The last commission of Christ is the great commission to the church. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only agent of God on earth to spread the gospel and His glory. If the church doesn’t go and proclaim the gospel, who else will do this task?

If the gospel of Christ Jesus is the only way for a man to be saved, then church is the only means to spread this gospel. May I repeat this for emphasis—if the gospel of Christ Jesus is the only way for a man to be saved, then church is the only means to spread this gospel.

Here is a word of caution—if a local church is not active in spreading the gospel of Christ Jesus, whatever else it does, it is not pleasing to the Lord who gave us the Great Commission. A church which is not earnestly engaged in missions is misled in its function and vision.

How Can a Local Church Accomplish the Task of Missions?

Local Missionaries: First, every local church should be missional and every believer should live in a sense as a local missionary. It is written about the early church believers that wherever they were scattered, they proclaimed the gospel of Christ Jesus in the surrounding places and beyond (Acts 8:4).

Wherever we are, be it in study place or work place, we should live as God's missionaries. Christians today are missing to live with this perspective. O, let this be revived. 

The biggest problem with the church today is that our local churches have become spiritual entertainment clubs than mission entities. The focus of today’s believers is on attending the church programs and activities with no passion for the spread of the gospel of Christ. The pathetic thing is that there is not even guilt for not doing so because that’s not the emphasis in the culture of today's churchianity.

Don't you suppose our churches have become more ceremonial rather than being missional?

Let us examine: Is the local church evangelism a regular activity of our local churches? Is personal evangelism emphasized in our local churches? Are we active in proclaiming the gospel of Christ and planting churches, which brings glory to the name of the Lord?

Foreign Missionaries: Second, every local church should not only be missional in its local place but also send missionaries to the places where gospel and church planting are unheard. Paul writes in Romans 10:13-15:

For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"

Observe the above order: For a person to be saved, he has to believe. In order for him to believe, he has to hear. For him to hear, someone has to preach. And how can they preach unless they are sent? It ends with the word “sent” because it begins with it. Without sending, nothing of the rest is going to happen. And who will send? Is this not the responsibility of the local churches? And is this not what we are neglecting?

Of course, it is the Lord who sends workers into the harvest. But from where will He pick them? Is it not from the local churches? And who will stand with them? Should not the local churches?

Unless our churches commit themselves to live as missional communities, people are not going to be saved in foreign lands, which means, they cannot be restored to live for the glory of God. If we love God and if we want God’s name to be glorified among all the nations, we, the local churches, should become missional.

If we echo the words in Isaiah 26:8, "Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts", then we have to become missional. If we truly mean by praying, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name, Your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven", then we have to become missional.

The glory of God is the reason why the local churches should become missional.

If every local church is determined to send at least one missionary in a year, we can reach many unreached places where people are not living for the glory of God. Sadly, there are many local churches existing for years, some for decades, without ever sending missionaries to spread the gospel and plant churches in foreign fields. They are existing only as historical monuments, not to make history by becoming missional.

There are thousands of places where the gospel has not reached and the churches are not planted. Multitudes of people are not living for God's glory. O, the glory of God is at stake! Let the local churches take this challenge to turn people, through the gospel of Christ Jesus, from self-glory to the glory of God.

May the Lord bring revival in the local churches to become Christ-centered, kingdom-minded and missional-oriented. Let our passion for the glory of God drive us to become missional. Are we, the local churches, willing to become missional?  [Click here to go to Part 1 of this article] |  2 of 2 

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Enquiries:

cstephendavid@gmail.com (or) messageforourage@gmail.com