Many Majors, One Mission

Introduction

1930’s one Yalunka converted, church (descendants) grow to 20 believers over the next 50 years, they’d been fasting/praying for 40 days for a missionary when Brad Willits accidentally noticed a sign that said “Christian meetinghouse”

Meanwhile, a young couple from Texas A&M was praying about where to go. They gave up great careers in engineering to become missionaries

Right now, many others are praying (or don’t even have believers to pray) for some to help spread the message of Jesus

Explanation

Read Luke 12:16-21

While our piles of grain continue to grow, our time to impact eternity continues to shrink. (v. 19-20)

I get it — it’s a constant fight to maintain focus on the urgency of what really matters.

What will you have to show for your life as you step into eternity?

Some of us will have touched the nations; others will have big barns.

Our missionary problem is a lordship problem.

Many of us can’t hear how God wants us to contribute to the mission because we aren’t willing to listen.

God has made you rich, not just materially. (v. 21)

Why we still need missionaries from the US

Increasing need for creative access/specialized missionaries

We need state school students with varying majors

Read Colossians 4:3

Your reason for not being called (your major/different plans) might be the very thing that creates an open door for the message.

Every major plays a part in God’s mission.

Different roles at PBT

Recruiter, BAM, MKT, church planter, Bible translator, IT, missionary care, community development, community health evangelism, media arts

What happens when we’re not rich towards God

Imagine the MAC person never joined

Economy hits supporters — they stop giving because they haven’t caught the vision (no MAC person)

The recruiter and missionary care decide to quit so they don’t have to fundraise. It’s harder stateside, after all

Community development can be hard to find — the people aren’t receptive because they’re too hungry to hear the gospel

[community health story — “We love God but we love full bellies more”]

Church planter & BAM decides to come home because people aren’t receptive. Surely it should be easier if I’m called right? There’s no missionary care to help them with the burnout.

MKT decides it’s easier back home — translators have to spend 1/2 homeschooling

IT decides they can make more money with a secular job

[computers stolen and 17 years of work lost]

It takes a team to thrive (thankfully God is sustaining many teams that are less than full)

Exhortation

Read 1 Cor. 9:24 — “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”

God gives each generation their leg of the race to run.

Our job may not be to finish the race, but we have to run our part well.

We’ll see Bible translation completed in our lifetime.

Some generations ran well; others did not. How will we run our part?

All the low-hanging fruit has been picked (although it wasn’t low-hanging then).

My grandad was the son of a sharecropper; he couldn’t run this part of the race with all its obstacles. We can.

Find your role in praying/giving or your role in going and run the race to win.