Category: Motivation for Missions

There is so much wonderful Kingdom work to do in America, so why should Christians leave “their own” to go into foreign missions? William Carey, 18th century missionary to India, answers that question nicely.  He says: That there are thousands in our own land as far from God as possible, I readily grant, and that this ought to excite us to ten-fold diligence in our work, and in attempts to spread divine knowledge amongst them is a certain fact; but that it ought to supersede all attempts to spread the gospel in foreign parts seems to want proof. Our own countrymen…

William Carey was an 18th century shoe-maker who is now known as the Father of Modern Missions.  After a short career as a pastor he desired to go to India for the sake of missions but was lacking support from the church in America.  His church considered mission work unnecessary because of an imbalanced view of the sovereignty of God.  He was told by one man, “If God wants to convert the heathen, he will do it without consulting you, or me!”  In response he wrote a rather long document that is now known as his “Enquiry.” I have been…

In a word, we believe that dealing with fear comes down to where we let our minds rest. Either on dangers, which leads to anxiety or on God which leads to peace. We do not believe that the default of the Christian’s mind is to be one of fear, no matter how difficult his or her life might be.  For instance, Proverbs 3:25 tells us, “Do not be afraid of sudden terror.”  We are not to wake up wondering if terrorists are going to bomb our city or if men with machetes are going to break into our home.  We…

Do you love tough theological issues? Do you have a desire pull your hair out at all hours of the night? Do you want to be in academics for the rest of your life? Would you like to give an entire people group the opportunity to worship Christ forever?… How about Bible Translation! When we were in seminary, the Greek and Hebrew classes seemed to be among the most popular (and the most feared!). Yet applying the languages to Bible translation seemed to be the least popular (yet still the most feared!). Why would this be? If you are among…

People who preach the Gospel to themselves ought to be the most hardcore, committed soldiers for Jesus out of anyone. Why? Because we know that a self-centered Gospel is not a complete Gospel. Instead, the Good News reminds us that we have been redeemed out of slavery to sin, given the Holy Spirit, and charged to walk in the good works prepared by God himself before the beginning of time. So, as I am rehearsing the Gospel during my daily devotions, I am reminded not only of God’s amazing love for me, but I am also calling myself to “suit…

We have four toddlers and, as many people know, the toddler in his most natural state is often found shouting “Mine, Mine, Mine!” in the face of his brothers and sisters. We actually have one child that tries to carry all of her favorite toys around with her so that her brothers and sister cannot touch them. Ironically, her hands are so full that she cannot even enjoy playing with them. Day in and day out they strive to create little kingdoms for themselves where they have all their favorite things around them and seek to bring others into subjection…

Perhaps you can relate to my natural reaction to seeing pretty much any movie that exposes social injustice: I want to suit up and fight! Perhaps you have grown in your awareness of sex trafficking, and you resolve to do something about it. Or, you listen to a sanctity of life sermon, or see pictures in a magazine of the starving oppressed of Africa, or an art exhibit highlighting the wounded children of war-torn nations, or a presentation about all of the Bible-less peoples of the world. Your senses are aroused, eyes are opened to the need, and righteous anger…

I have not read Rob Bell’s book. However, it seems as if his notion that life on earth is as bad as it gets is really just an echo of where our culture has been moving. I counsel at a pregnancy center and more and more often it seems as if girls come in determined to reason away Hell based on their false notion of a how a “loving” God ought to conduct himself. If we make God into our own image – a God who is apathetic towards abortion, sexual immorality, un-thankful hearts, towards worship of other gods, and…