Missions
"Missions exists because worship doesn't" said John Piper. But what is missions? And what is a missionary? Are all evangelists missionaries? Should we call local ministries "home missions"?
The English word missionary comes from the same root as the word missile... which means, "something sent" And so , we have:
- transmission (sent across)
- submission (sent under)
- commission (sent with)
- emissary (sent person)
In other words, a missionary is someone who is sent... from a local church... to minister to people across either a geographical or cultural boundary. They are ordinary people who have been commissioned (sent with God's blessing), to preach and plant churches, in obedience to Jesus, who commanded, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations." (Matthew 28). The word, "nations" means ethnic groups... and so one does not need to go overseas to be a missionary.
We can, therefore, categorize a church's ministry into two kingdom activities: a) Local Ministries (including evangelism and church-planting) and b) Missions (cross-cultural ministry, often abroad). Both are vital and require our support. When it comes to missions.. every Christian is either a sender or a "sent-one." As a church, let's aim be the best senders possible!
Missionaries we support:
- The Paetkaus - John
& Leanne
Sumy, Ukraine
-
The
Cirias - Eugene & Elizabeth
Spain
-
The Jolleys - Ken & Mary Ann
Caracas, Venezuela
-
The Flemings - Rob & Kathryn
Hitachinaka, Japan
This is not an exhaustive list. (For security reasons, we do no list workers in sensitive areas such as the Arab world.)
Please visit each of these links to learn more of what God is doing
through the lives of these people... and how we can support their work.
