THE GLORY OF GOD OVER THE NATIONS
The great commission of our Lord Jesus
Christ is to go to the whole world and make disciples among the nations who will
joyfully and willingly obey the commands of God – commands which are filled with
God’s goodness and love (Matthew 28:18-20). And while the message and focus of
the w
ork of Christ on the Cross as the means for this restored relationship with
God remains forever, gloriously unchanged, the way this discipling process
unfolds can be as flexible and open to change as the unfolding of history
demands. In the last fifty years there has been a spread of Christianity and
the gospel throughout Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia that
is unparalleled in human history. At the same time there is a migration of
people groups from a wide variety of nations across the globe that has created
the largest migration movement of human beings in the history of the world.
One of the many results of these historical shifts is that we find ourselves
surrounded by a diversity of nations greater than anything any generation
previous to ours has experienced. We also find ourselves connected to the
global church in those nations more intimately than we could have dreamed
possible. All of this has had a decisive impact on our sense of “how” we
fulfill the great commission. With these tectonic shifts in the mission
landscape, we have sought the Lord’s wisdom on how to adapt. Traditionally,
churches like ours have singled out individuals from our own culture who felt
called to missions and we have put all of our support behind them. We still see
the value of that and are committed to placing U.S.- sent missionaries on
foreign fields of service. However, there are some new ways for us to support
the great commission as a result of all these other changes, and we have, in
response, been redirectin
g our mission support. Those two avenues of support
include:
· assisting national pastors and ministry leaders both through financial giving and mutual exchange of discipleship and teaching
· networking with existing churches in other countries to support the compassionate care of orphans and other needy children in the most hard-pressed areas of the world.
We have been blessed with tremendous opportunity to do our part in impacting the world with the good news of the Gospel in Nairobi, Kenya, Kinshasa, Congo, Lima, Peru and Togo. Our prayer is that you will simply listen to the needs and opportunities to participate and respond to the love of Christ flowing through you and then give as the Spirit directs your heart. May the Lord bless you as you participate in the spread of the Gospel!
