Kingdom Mission

Jesus therefore said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
(John 20:21)

Collectively the body of Christ, the Church, has been commissioned for a mission. A mission to spread the good news of the kingdom of God throughout the world. In Matthew's gospel, Jesus tells his disciples, as well as us today, to go and make disciples. We are sent by Jesus just as the Father had sent him. We are ambassadors of Christ, who are to go into the world with the message of reconciliation to God.

As individual believers, we are part of the body of Christ. Together we go to the ends of the earth proclaiming the gospel message. Some may go physically, being sent into a foreign culture in a foreign land. Or we may be sent to another state or town within our own land. All of us are certainly sent to our neighbors, co-workers, fellow students, family, friends, and those around us in need.

Besides going physically with the message of Christ, we are to go along in support of those who do go physically. We are to support those who do serve by praying for them and by giving financially to spread the Word of God. Thus, through going, praying, and giving, we support the mission Jesus gave us to go and make disciples. Our loyalty in fulfilling this kingdom mission is further evidence that we living for Jesus.

Growth towards Christian maturity

My Mission and Vision

Being that our focus is on ourselves, we neither have knowledge nor interest in the kingdom of God or any kind of mission connected to it. Our mission is fulfilling our own desires and dreams. The only vision we have of the future is a self-centered vision. The idea of God having some kind vision for His creation and a mission that entails spreading the good news about His plans for the future, just doesn't make sense to us. If it doesn't help us individually and those close to us, then it is of little or no interest to us. So, don't talk to us about supporting the mission of God's kingdom because we don't have either the time or a dime to spare.

Encountering the Mission

In getting to know Jesus, we are exposed to God's plan of salvation for His creation through Christ. We hear bits and pieces about the Church's mission, but we are not yet able to put the pieces together in order to see the bigger picture. Perhaps we see cards for supporting missionaries or a display listing the missionaries our local church supports and where they are serving. But we don't grasp the function of the body of Christ. What we are starting to conclude is that missions are about people going overseas. What we don't understand is that this is only part of the picture. The idea of missions becomes all the more real to us when our church hosts a missionary family who share their story. We may even talk to them personally and learn a little bit more about them and their heart for the people they are serving or going to serve. The missionaries talk about their need for prayer and financial support. Chances are, we may be more comfortable at this point giving a few dollars to support them than we would be for praying for them. We may step up and give some money or even commit to pray for them. In doing so, we are taking steps towards being engaged in the mission of the church without actually realizing it. It is a small, but important step we are taking. There is more to missions than supporting missionaries who serve internationally, but that is part of the bigger picture. By supporting the missionaries we meet, we get start to learn about the people they serve through their periodic updates, emails, and newsletters. The more missionaries we meet and support through prayer and giving, the greater our understanding of the kingdom mission becomes.

Supporting Missions

Seeing the Bigger Picture

As we mature in Christ, and as our local church teaches us more about the mission of the church, we come to realize that missions are not just about missionaries going to foreign lands. Missions is the calling of the church and it takes place first and foremost in our local setting. When we reach out in the name of Jesus to people in need, we are engaging in the mission of the church. We encounter organizations within our local community that have a mission focus. It may be a food pantry that is spreading the message of Christ by helping those who need food. It may be a shelter or a medical clinic that serves in the name of Jesus Christ. There is no end to the types of organizations that proclaim Christ through ministering to others. All of these organizations not only need our financial support, but our prayers and time as well. While we cannot support every Christian organization, we find one or two that really resonate in our heart and find a way to get involved or support them. We are putting more pieces into the picture. We also discover Christian organizations both nationally and internationally that are playing a small role in fulfilling the mission of the kingdom. Again, we cannot support and engage in all of them, but we need to be engaging in some form of kingdom work beyond our local church. In some cases, we may be helping financially. Others we may pray for regularly. Still others we might invest our time and energy by getting involved physically. Not only is our mission awareness increasing, but our view of the kingdom of God is expanding as well. We are much more aware of organizations, missionaries, and opportunities both locally and elsewhere that we can support in a variety of ways.

Mission Being Accomplished

There is no set amount we are to give as mature Christians, we simply give from the heart as the Lord directs. There are no prayer requirements we are to fulfill, we pray as we sense a need or as our passion for a particular mission grows. Neither is that a quota of some number of mission activities we must engage to be a mature Christian. We go, pray, and give as we are led. We may feel like we can never do enough, which is absolutely true, we can never do enough. God is not calling us to "do enough". God calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. God requires that we simply be loyal to him. Our loyalty shows up through the various ways the Lord enables us to support the mission of his kingdom. We may not touch many lives directly, but through missions we are helping to make disciples around the world. Not only are we supporting others in making disciples both nationally and internationally, but we are personally engaged in making disciples locally. We do that in various ways through our gifts, inviting people to follow Christ, and investing in them. Our loyalty is to Christ and his mission. He came to seek and save the lost and that is what we do. Those who follow him as a result of our influence in their lives become his disciples and like us, then learn from him. We are living for Jesus.