Devotional: Why Missions Matters

Intro

Thank you, Jeremy, for inviting Sam and I to come and talk about missions at Thomas Road Baptist Church. From my understanding, you’ve recently been discussing evangelism and some strategies for how to do that — that’s awesome, because evangelism is a huge part of missions.

In our Missions Department, our mission statement is:

Mobilizing local and global missionaries who:

Love God

Serve People

Share Jesus

We believe that everyone at Thomas Road is called to missions. Our goal is to help people get outside our church walls to be witnesses for Jesus in our community and around the world.

A great example of this comes from Jesus’ words in Acts 1:8:

“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

This is a command from Jesus. It reminds us that we are called to be His witnesses:

Jerusalem represents our local community — for us, that’s Lynchburg.

Judea represents our nation — the rest of our country.

Samaria represents people who are different from us — whether that’s culturally, socially, economically, or even in their beliefs.

And the ends of the earth represent the global mission — taking the gospel to the nations.

This is where our mission statement comes in. We believe this calling starts with three simple but powerful steps:

1. Love God

Missions doesn’t begin with strategy — it begins with a love for God.

Matthew 22:37–39 (ESV)

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

When we love God, we begin to love the things He cares about. And one of the things He cares about most is people.

2. Serve People

At Thomas Road, we want to earn the right to be heard. We do that by serving others and meeting their physical and emotional needs.

Matthew 25:35–40 (ESV)

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”

“Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”

This passage shows us that serving people is serving Jesus. That’s how seriously He takes it. And as we serve others, we open the door to share the gospel.

3. Share Jesus

You all talked about this last week — sharing Jesus is not just a suggestion; it’s a command.

Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”

We believe that while not everyone is called to go overseas, everyone is called to go across the street. God has placed each of us in our own mission field — our neighborhood, workplace, or classroom — to share the hope of Jesus.

Getting Practical

Now that we’ve covered our mission statement, let’s talk about how you can personally get involved with missions at Thomas Road.

There are three main ways: PRAY - GIVE - GO

Pray:

There are many ways to pray when it comes to missions, but we can always start with how Jesus taught his disciples to pray.

Matthew 6:9–13 ESV

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Our primary reason for missions is because God is holy, and He is worthy of all praise from all people. People will always let you down. There will be times where your love for people will not be your driving force for missions. The foundation must be the holiness of God. He deserves all the honor and glory from every nation, tribe, and tongue.

What is the kingdom of God?

When we say “thy kingdom come,” we are inviting God’s reign into our lives. We are inviting God’s reign into the earth as we invite others to know Him.

What is God’s will?

2 Peter 3:9 ESV

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

This verse shows God’s heart of mercy - His desire and will is that everyone would turn from sin and come to know Him through repentance and faith in Jesus.

It’s part of why Jesus came:

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”- Luke 19:10

When we pray “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,”we’re praying for this very thing - that God’s desire for people to know Him would spread across the world. That means:

· Praying for the lost - that hearts would be open to the gospel.

o This means the lost in our families, the lost in our cities and workplaces, and the lost around the world

· Praying for missionaries and churches - that they would boldly and wisely share the good news.

o This means praying for Thomas road and our staff- our missions team! That we would be found faithful to practice obedience, as we call you to do the same. This looks like taking prayer cards of our missionaries and putting them on your fridge, committing to pray for them and their families as they serve on the field. Pray for protection, provision, strength, and pray against spiritual warfare.

o This looks like praying for our local and global partners who are carrying the work into the field. We have many local partners such as Parkview and the Salvation Army who work to feed the hungry, house the homeless, and lift up families in our community in Jesus’ name. Globally, we partner with organizations such as the Timothy Initiative, which trains local pastors to reach their own people through a Paul and Timothy discipleship method- it is reproduceable and happens via multiplication. We can pray for these partners, that God blesses their ministry.

· Pray for workers to go to the harvest field (Matthew 9:37-38)(Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”)

So, praying for missions is directly praying in line with God’s will - His desire that all nations would come to know Him.

“This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” - 1 Timothy 2:3–4

2. Give:

Giving with a Kingdom mindset: You’re not just donating to a project — you’re investing in what God is doing in Lynchburg and around the world. Your money helps send missionaries, translate Scripture, feed families in our community, and plant churches where Christ isn’t known yet. All of this is done with the goal of building gospel bridges and bringing people to Christ.

Sacrificial generosity: Mission-focused giving often means going beyond our convenience – it is giving in a way that reflects trust in God’s provision. It’s about saying, with open hands, “God, everything I have belongs to You. Use it for Your glory.”

Partnership in the mission: Not everyone can go overseas or into the field - but everyone has a part to play in missions. Financial giving is how you can partnerwith those who do go. Paul actually thanked the Philippian church for this kind of support:

Philippians 4:16–17 ESV

Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.

Reflecting God’s generous heart: God gave His Son for the world - and when we give to make Him known, we mirror His character.

Here are some practical ways to give to missions at Thomas Road!

Coffee for a Cause: This is our coffee ministry that helps support missions initiatives within our church! Coffee for a cause is currently raising money to send to missionaries. Our Christmas initiative is to raise money to help build a home for some of our Thomas Road missionaries in Guatemala.

Give to missionaries specifically: our missionaries are listed on our website. You can reach most of them via email, and give specifically to their family and ministry.

Give to local initiatives: you can give to things such as Operation Christmas Child, Salvation Army, and Parkview.

3. Go:

Yes, you can pray and give—but you can also GO!

At Thomas Road, we offer many different ways for you to be actively involved in missions. One of the key ways to get started is right here in our local community. You may not be called to go overseas, but every one of us is called to go across the street.

We do this in three primary ways you can get involved locally:

1. Serve Lynchburg These are recurring serving opportunities where our people can build relationships and share the gospel. Examples include our Duffle Bag Project for foster kids, CarePortal, Ready Response Teams, adoption and foster care ministry, Good News Clubs in schools, homebound care, and door-to-door evangelism.

2. Partners We strategically partner with local ministries that are already serving our community well—ministries like local pregnancy centers, Freedom 4/24, Park View Community Mission, Lynchburg Daily Bread, God’s Pit Crew, FCA, and Hope Aglow Prison Ministry, among others. These partnerships expand our reach and provide clear on-ramps for our people to serve.

3. Serve Events We also mobilize our entire church through larger serving events that make a significant impact in our community—events like Serve Day, Operation Christmas Child, Angel Tree, Celebrate America, Trunk or Treat, and Vacation Bible School. These opportunities meet physical needs and open doors for spiritual conversations.

But you can also get involved globally. Just like locally, you can engage through prayer, giving, and going.

At Thomas Road, we offer a variety of short-term mission trips—both domestic and international. These trips are some of the best ways to see firsthand what God is doing around the world.

This year, we’re going to:

Global Trips:

Romania

Brazil

Bahamas

Costa Rica

Guatemala

Philippines

South Korea

Croatia

Domestic Trips:

New York City

Alexandria, VA

Richmond, VA

Leesburg, VA

These are incredible opportunities to be part of what God is doing through the global mission of Thomas Road Baptist Church. One of the great things about these trips is that you’ll not only build relationships with your team but also with our missionaries. As our boss always says, “You leave as strangers but come back as family.”

Now, I know that’s a lot of information! To help, we’ve given each of you a Passport to Missions. Inside, you’ll find everything we just talked about, along with details on how to get connected. It also includes our email address, so if you have any questions, feel free to reach out.

You can also visit our website at trbc.org/missions to learn more—we’ll show you a quick overview in just a moment.