Go, Send or Disobey: Famed British preacher and writer John Stott, preached these words early and often from his London pulpit, and created an environment of natural missions in his church. “Natural Missions” is the state that exists when a church is so naturally missional that the church can’t help but pray, give, and send people to meet needs, in the name of Christ. To not do so, would be to disobey a large portion of scripture.
The words of Nina Gunter, ring true: “If you take missions out of the Bible, you won’t have anything left but the covers.” If a church really and truly takes the Bible seriously, they will be missional in every definition of the word. Missions as an option? Nope, missions will be a driving force, given the import of worship and Sunday School.
David Livingstone, Africa missionary and all-around famous name, wrote: “Sympathy is no substitute for action.” Few truer words have ever been uttered. It is not difficult to find other places or people groups to sympathize with and feel sorry for. These are natural reactions and proves we have hearts. To go beyond sympathy and to act on their behalf is missional, and proves we have Christ-filled souls! Big difference.
Lamin Sanneh wrote that the original language of Christianity is translation. Who am I to alter an excellent quote but I’d say it a bit differently: “The original language of Christianity is demonstration.” Translation is huge and JCBC has been part of making the Gospel in Farsi a reality, but even the best translation needs a live example, a demonstration to give it life. This is what separates our church from many others…we step up and demonstrate missions.
JCBC is in our annual – Annual Missions Offering season. This is the time each year, we each pray about giving an over-and-above-gift to support our multi and varied missional activities. The funds raised in March allow us to provide food, clothes and other resources for our local missional partners. Money given in March, allows us to provide clean water systems in other countries that would otherwise go without clean, potable water. Your gifts in March, allow us to continue to support the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Global Missions Fund and keep missionaries on the field across the globe. Our gifts continue to make JCBC a truly missional church.
It’s March, so let’s demonstrate our commitment to missions by writing that check (or giving online). The world’s a big, needy place and we can help!
Michael McCullar
Formations Pastor
Johns Creek Baptist Church