We Aspire to Grow in Mission-Mindedness
Bibianna shares five ways that we can participate in the work of proclaiming the good news that God has sent Jesus to redeem and reconcile us back to God.
Are you a Christian today? How did you become one?
All of us would have become Christians through someone, or multiple people explaining the gospel to us. It could have been Sunday School teachers or your parents when you were a child. For some, it could have been a colleague who shared the gospel over lunch. Or perhaps you were researching about Christianity over YouTube and chanced upon a sermon. You could have also been attending church services for years, when suddenly, one week, your heart was stirred and the gospel made sense.
God’s design
In God’s wise design, saving faith comes through proclamation of truth about God’s salvation plan. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the gospel (Rom 10:17) and salvation by faith is tied to knowing the the good news that God has sent a Saviour. Jesus, before His ascension, gave the Great Commission and tells His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, baptising and teaching them to observe His commands (Matt 28:18-20). His people are not to stay in one place with His teaching but are to go out with it.
God’s heart
And as we read Scripture, we realise too, that missions and evangelism is not a man-made idea. God has always intended for His world to be filled with His glory and in Genesis 1:26-27, the command to be fruitful and multiply was to do just that. With sin and brokenness entering the world, there is a need for restoration. His salvation plan of redemption and restoration unfolded slowly throughout the Old Testament.
And at the high point of His plan, God sent His Son to achieve this salvation. This is the ultimate act of sacrifice and love from a missional God and this is the good news that His people now bring to the world.
God’s people’s obedience
In the gospels, we read of different individuals who responded to Jesus. In John 1:35-42, Jesus called the first disciples and called them to “Come and see” and they did. Then, Andrew brought his brother, Peter (Jn 1:41-42). In the next verse, Jesus calls Phillip, who in turn, called Nathanael (Jn 1:45). The woman who met Jesus at the well went back to her town and called them to “come and see” too (Jn 4:29). Those who met Jesus went out to call others to Him.
The book of Acts also records for us the disciples going out, from Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and then into the nations. They went to the places of worship (Acts 3:1,9:20), they spoke to leaders (Acts 23) and also dialogued with people in the marketplace (Acts 17:17). They also shared the gospel in jail (Acts 16:25-40). No matter where the apostles and early disciples found themselves at, they spoke of Jesus Christ and His saving work to those around them. At the heart of it, our local evangelism and cross-cultural missions is doing this – calling people to come and see who Jesus is and what He has done.
Our mission-mindedness
Evangelism and missions is not just for us individually, but is important to our church too. God used the faithfulness of missionaries in the 1950s to establish and build up our church. We aspire to continue to be faithful and persevere in this task to "declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!" (Ps 96:3)
I’ve been encouraged by the many ways that members in our church have been reaching out. Many are inviting their colleagues, friends, and people they’ve met at various occasions – at classes, gaming etc – to come and hear the gospel being preached. Hearing these stories has also challenged me to think about my own evangelism and how I approach missions too. As we share these efforts – sometimes successful, and at other times not so – may it encourage us to persevere in this mission!
There are many ways that we can participate in this work as a church, both in formal and informal ways.
Share with those around us. God has placed each one of us where we are with a unique sphere of influence. How can we be faithful in these relationships, and invite our colleagues, neighbours, tenants, landlords and friends to come and see (and hear) about this Saviour? At a recent sharing on reaching unreached people groups, it was said that many people groups are actually in Singapore. How can we call those around us to “come and see” the One who has saved us?
Invite people to your homes, church or care groups and let them see what we believe. It doesn't matter if our homes are not in a perfect state, or all we have is just a rented space. This display of hospitality may seem counter-cultural, and when we do so, we are inviting others into our lives to see the difference that the gospel makes.
Equip ourselves to share the gospel. Our Equip team is running a short course two times this year on Introducing Jesus, and this could be platform to bring your non-Christian friends or for us to learn a way of sharing the gospel. The team also did a short series on reaching unreached people groups last year, where they highlighted how some missions efforts can also be done right here in Singapore.
Participate in missions by praying, giving or going. Every month, the Missions Committee puts together a report, and missionaries share their work and prayer requests at our monthly prayer meeting. We also have a separate Missions Fund to support the work of our missionaries. If you are keen to find out more about going, feel free to contact the Missions Committee.
Pray and persevere. And lastly, in all these endeavours, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, as Ephesians 6:12 indicates for us. We put on the full armour of God and pray (Eph 6:13-20).
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Read also:
We Aspire to Cultivate Christlikeness
We Aspire to be Shaped by the Gospel
We Aspire to Deepen our Unity in Christ
We Aspire to Disciple One Another in Christ