Mission Minded

My experience

So, many of you may know that I recently returned from the US. If I had one word to describe the US is that it is ‘BIG’!

Like, everything is big, big cars, big streets, big attractions, big meals (I must say their small is our large), almost big everything.

But size doesn’t matter of course because it’s not the quantity it is the quality that really counts.

Now while I was in the US, I learnt a lot about church and how and why people are attracted to Jesus especially in this day and age and it was a real blessing to learn a lot from our cousins from across the sea, and I will be sharing some of the things I’ve learnt.

But what I also see is big churches regardless of denomination. Like churches with thousands of members and 14+ pastors and various paid staffs to do ministry. It’s amazing to see that they’re passionate for soul winning and growing and expanding churches.

It’s about mission and unity!

It’s not about the numbers it’s about mission minded people and unity, these Sunday churches (as well as Adventist churches) from what I see work well together, they’re unified in all that they do and through their labour I see the Holy Spirit work.

Now you might think, they get their members through cheap grace and extravagant services. You might be thinking, how many of them are leaving through the back door?

Sure, we can question the church but then are we any better? Whatever question you have ask the same question with your church.

These churches are booming with people, how have we fared? Don’t think I am attacking you, because as your pastor this is my responsibility as well these are the questions I ask myself. It’s not about measuring myself to these churches but how connected to the Holy Spirit are we as a church? How willing are we to be lead by the Spirit?

These churches are growing because I see God working with them and in them, all these church leaders are ministering to the needs of people and sharing the gospel. Are we or you ministering to their needs of the community?

I heard last Sabbath we were blessed to have the Chinese group sing songs during our Easter program. How did that make you feel?

You see, just one or two people were mission minded and had an idea to start a simple table tennis group and English classes for the community and look at the fruits of their labour. Imagine what that fruit would look like if we had more volunteers? More mission minded volunteers?

It’s all our responsibility and again it isn’t about the numbers. It is about bringing people to Jesus, ministering to the needs of people in Jesus name. That’s what matters bringing people to Him through our services because we love Him and this is what He has asked us to do.

It doesn’t matter if you can’t speak Chinese, whatever you have, that is a skill and it can be used to minister to others.

Adventist boom!

At the start of the Seventh-day Adventist church from 1863, the people that started this new denomination were just ordinary people but they were driven by what they believe and shared the everlasting gospel through the means and interests at that time.

Tent meetings to public debates were the areas of evangelism that brought most people from the community to our churches and this continued to work through time, but as the years progressed the secular thinking and lifestyle began to dominate and the numbers started dropping. Unless of course if we had a big name preacher then people would flock, but something like that would mean a lot of resources.

The sad fact is that the old and popular tools of evangelism is not as beneficial and our church needs to adapted itself in sharing the gospel and one way that we can share the gospel and this is something that has worked throughout all church history is ‘friendship evangelism’.

Friendship evangelism is a subtle way in sharing the good news, it’s not something where we share the 28 fundamental belief, but it is an opportunity for you to share your story. How and why you’re a Christian, it’s up to the Holy Spirit to direct either you and them where it would go from there.

Friendship evangelism doesn’t require a lot of resources, you can use almost anything that will interest people, what ever interest or hobby you have, it can be an interest and a hobby to someone in our community.

[Hobby activity]

If you have an interest, build a community with it, when you build that community then sow the seeds of the good news. Remember, the purpose is mission, when we accept Jesus as our Lord and our King we also accepted the call to be His workers in the field we accepted His mission to share the news of His soon return.

We don’t need to complicate our mission, we don’t need to have complex ideas, we just need whatever it is that will attract someone and from there sow that seed when that time comes.

The disciples vs the Samaritan

In John 4:1-38 tells a story of Jesus interacting with a Samaritan woman. Most of us know this story, but when I was in the US, they shared this story but from a different perspective that blew my mind and I hope it will encourage you and bless you as well.

You see, Jesus and His disciples arrive at a Samaritan village of Sychar around noontime, now Jesus was tired and made His way towards Jacob’s well and sat beside the well.

His disciples had gone to the village to buy some food, I suppose a way to impress the Lord seeing how weary He is from the journey.

Not long after a Samaritan woman comes to draw water from the well, and Jesus has a conversation with the woman. This surprises the woman as Jews and Samaritans avoid each other and not only that, it is said that Jewish men avoided speaking with woman in public, even with their own wives.

Jesus asks the woman for water, but what is it that Jesus is offering to the woman?

John 4:14 NKJV

14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Well technically it is everlasting life, however, there are two stages in order to have that eternal life.

The first stage is to drink the water that is given to them.

The second stage is that the water becomes a fountain of water in them.

Only after that it will become everlasting life.

Now, I want you to remember that, because I will elaborate on that later.

Eventually, the woman is convinced and asks for that water, Jesus asks her to call her husband and she explains that she has no husband. Jesus commends her for her honesty and explains to her of her past relationships and her current relationships.

Now, the woman’s mind is ticking and soon discovers that the man she is speaking to is a prophet and eventually realises and learns about worshiping in spirit and the most important realisation that this prophet is indeed the Messiah.

It was about this time Jesus’ disciples come back and astonished to see Jesus speaking to a Samaritan woman in public that she eventually leaves and goes to the city and tell the people there about Jesus.

The disciples on the other hand urge Jesus to eat, but Jesus explains to them that He is satisfied because He has been refreshed in the salvation on that one woman. The need for material things are of minor importance to Jesus when it comes to the salvation of souls.

My friends, what are your priorities? What are the things that should matter to you? What can you learn from Jesus in this amazing story?

The story explained...

The Woman at the Well

Was Jesus in this village to eat or drink? Or was He there for that woman?

Jesus was there for the woman, He wasn’t there to be fed physically, or for the water that was in the well. He was there for that Samaritan woman who had been in various relationships and had come to the well to avoid the public in the heat of the day.

She wasn’t expecting anyone to be at that well, let alone a Jewish man, or even the Messiah. But, she is the epitome of who we are, when Jesus came to us! She became an outcast to a disciple of the Jesus.

She, drank of the water that was given to her, and she went to the city to be a fountain to her home to lead people to the Messiah the Giver of the Living Water.

This one woman brought the city to Jesus, all because she had this one interaction with Jesus and believed.

The disciples of Jesus

Now the disciples on the other hand, at the beginning of this story, they were in that same town, all 12 of them.

They were there to try and please the Lord by getting Him food, these Jewish disciples would have either avoided the Samaritans to look for the Jews for food or dealt with the Samaritans harshly.

These 12 disciples, compared to the woman at the well, had spent more time with Jesus and learnt more about Jesus and His teachings.

Yet, they came from that city and brought no one to Jesus, but the material things that they thought would satisfied Jesus.

Now, what the disciples did, was it wrong for them to bring food to Jesus? No, it wasn’t wrong, but what they don’t realise is what the Lord wants of them. To be fishers of men, to be disciples and not just followers.

To be mission minded just like that woman.

To be Mission Minded

You see, everyone is just happy in being a Christian; we’ve accepted Jesus, we’ve been baptised, we’ve accepted the beliefs of the church, we attend church and we’re secure. Sure, just like the disciples.

But, what we don’t realise is that every member is a minister, every member is a missionary. Being a Christian means that we are to minister in love for Jesus. To be a missionary to the places He has placed us in.

We need to realise that as missionaries, when we minister to the community we’re in, we don’t go and start evangelising doctrines and teachings, we evanglise Jesus and His gospel.

But missionaries do this by learning the culture and the people, the spend time with the people and build a relationship with them, the minister to their needs and build communities through their interest and hobbies and as they establish relationships they share their story of faith. Friendship evangelism; mission mindfulness.

Do you know your neighbour?

In a book called ‘The Art of Neighbouring’ by Jay Pathak, he was one of the keynote speakers at the conference that I went to in Orlando. But, he shared something that made me think about my community and the people that live around me.

He asked the question to the audience about the people that live in your block or in your apartment level asking if you know who they are? Who is your neighbour?

It wasn’t just their name, their occupation or who they’re married to. Like, if possible intimately know them, do they know who you are? Do they know which church you go to and what services we offer?

What about our church? Do we know the people that live nearby us? How well do we know them? I’ve heard from some people coming to our Food Pantry that they didn’t know we even exist and our church has been here since 1903!

How intimate are we to our community?

Have we drank from the water that Jesus gave us?

Have we become a fountain of living water for our community?

Is that fountain springing up to everlasting life?

Go ye therefore...

Acts 13:47 NLT

47 For the Lord gave us this command when he said, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’”

My friends, it’s not about numbers but it is about quality relationships. It’s about friendship evangelism, this has been used for centuries that and brought many people to Jesus.

What are some skills, interest, or hobbies that would attract people for you to build communities?

As missionaries, how well do you know your community? Their culture and it’s people intimately in your neighbourhood?

Have you drunk from the water given to you by Jesus? Are you a fountain for others to drink from Him?

May the Lord bless you as you leave here with His mission in mind.