Make Disciples of All Nations
Every Sunday, we are commissioned out with the words of Jesus to go and make disciples of all nations. Your mission is to make disciples.
Now that is foundational. It applies to every Christian from the frontline evangelist to the single mom, to the college student. As Spurgeon says, “Every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor.”
But this morning, I'd like to focus our attention specifically on the nations, specifically the 5,000 unreached people groups and their 1 billion unreached people. These are also mothers and college students and sons created in God's image, yet who have never heard the good news of king Jesus. They have never experienced the joy of Christ as their savior.
So what is our role Cities Church? What's our part for Christ's command to go into the nations. So my goal today, my plea is twofold.
First: That you would soberly and prayerfully consider if God would call you to be sent as a cross-cultural missionary, would you be sent into the nations? Yes. I’m talking about leaving your job, selling your house, saying goodbye to all these amazing people, and learning a new language. All for the sake of seeing God's name glorified in these nations, for the joy of sharing the good news of king Jesus. Sharing with people who have never heard it before, people created in God's image, to see them worship, for the first time worship, the only one who is worthy of it.
So God may be calling you to a new chapter of joyful cross-cultural missions. Will you listen, would you pray that the Lord would unsettle your heart towards this? That's number one.
Number Two: Is for those of us whose primary mission is here, making disciples in the Twin Cities. Would we also, with the same prayerfulness and sobriety, embrace our role as joyful senders into the nations. You see joyful senders play a vital role in fulfilling the Great Commission.
3 John reminds us that we ought to support missionaries and that when we send and support missionaries, we are legit fellow workers with them, in that mission, sharing in that joy. So are we ready?
Are we ready for a new chapter of joyful cross-culture missions sending when we listen, would we pray that our hearts become unsettled towards this?
And so, as we wrestle through this and we pray about this, I'd like to give us some primers, a few practical examples of things that we can start doing now.
First, reach out to one of the missionaries that we are currently supporting, send them an email, a zoom call, send them a package, sign up for their missions, updates.
Put their picture on your refrigerator. Pray for their specific needs. When you go for that snack at 2:00 AM, be a legit fellow worker with them in their work too through prayer in that moment.
Let's read books on missions and biographies about missionaries. Let's read them to our children. Let's read them in our community groups. Let's embrace missions and have a passion for missions through the things that we read. Be encouraged and reminded by faithful missionaries in the past.
Another one is if we have the opportunity, take a week off, take a couple of weeks off, go visit one of these missionaries. You don't have to learn Swahili. You can babysit their kids. You can help clean up around the house. You can encourage them. You can share in the ups and downs, the joys and the sorrows of their work and what God is doing there. You can be a fellow worker with them. And finally, Cities Church, let's pray earnestly that God would raise up laborers among us from us to these 5,000 unreached people groups, to these 1 billion unreached peoples. Pray that God would break down our fears and our hesitations and replace them with a passion, a passion for missions, a passion for his glory, and with joy—confident joy—knowing that God’s all sustaining power and presence is with us.