We are all called. We are all sent. We are all called to offer the gift of Jesus' love to others!
Why we make missions a priority ...
The understanding that "we are called" and "we are sent" is at the foundation of our faith. The scriptures are full of stories of persons who responded to a call and were sent on mission for God. Jesus spent his ministry calling persons and sending them on God's mission. Jesus summed up the Christian lifestyle in a simple formula - "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength" and "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:30) The New Testament instructs those who would be followers of Jesus to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give shelter to the homeless, heal the sick, care for the widows, and nurture the children. We are told that Jesus came in order that we might be able to tear down walls of hostility that divide and to build bridges for the gospel.
We are called, wherever we are in the world, to love all of God's creation and to demonstrate that love with action.
Therefore, putting our faith into action is at the very heart of our Christian calling and not just something that we do in our spare time after we have reached our personal goals. Life is a mission trip! Every person in the church has the opportunity to serve and to live their calling and their lives more faithfully. And when we reach out in this way, using what God has given us in the service of others, we have "life-transforming" experiences.
Our neighborhood has expanded. Today we are a global neighborhood and our neighbors are everywhere. There is no place on this planet where we are not called to go if there is a need. We have discovered that when those of us from more affluent countries and congregations work alongside those who are poor or oppressed, we are blessed in profound ways. As we move into different cultures and experience the reality of other contexts, we begin to live our lives with greater sensitivity, understanding, and compassion. This kind of living and understanding can be life energizing and church energizing.
In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. "Everyone can be great because everyone can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't even have to make your subject and your verb agree... You only need a heart full of grace...a soul generated by love."
