Mission Seminar
Christian mission brings the message of salvation in Christ alone to all ethnic groups so that they have the undisputed opportunity to become new persons in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).
While Jesus met physical/emotional needs, preaching good news took the higher priority—it has eternal consequences.
A good strategy to disciple the nations is for frontier missionaries to plant viable ethnic churches, which will continue to evangelize and disciple their own people, first.
Discipleship--Christians becoming more and more like Christ--is more the responsibility of the established church, than of missions.
More generally, mission is continuing to do Jesus’ work.
A Christian missionary is God’s ambassador bringing the message of salvation in Christ alone to another people, so that members will have the opportunity to be born from above.
A missionary is sent by God on a task. The word “missionary” is the Latin equivalent of the Greek “apostle,” or “sent one.”
Missionaries are distinguished by a “call” from God (Acts 13:2), although some believe Matt. 28:18-20 (“the Great Commission”) suffices for a call to everyone.
World A
M-1 Frontier missionaries—World A
“Great Commission Christians”
Someone who only does the work of a deacon:
God wants no one to be lost (go to hell), but all to repent (2 Pet. 3:9). Missions is God’s work, not the responsibility of any one sending nation or people.
The “Servant of the Lord,” meaning both Jesus and Israel, was to bring God’s salvation “to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:3-6; Acts 13:46-47).
In the New Testament the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). We are now His “feet” to reach the lost, wherever they are (Rom. 10:14-15).
Sinners are born daily among
If you protest sending money and people overseas to evangelize and serve, because needs are great at home, do you actually evangelize and serve well in your neighborhood?
Those who do reject Jesus will not have eternal life in heaven (John 3:36; 12:48). JESUS said that none come to the Father apart from Him (John 14:6).
Pagans also violate their own moral standards– thus condemning themselves (Rom. 2:14-16).
If all are saved who don’t hear of Christ, the best strategy is to immediately withdraw all missionaries, so that all will be saved
Do We CARE that Pagans are REALLY Lost?
Slide 23
A church of 25,000 planned a trip to Kenya in July 2003 to see their bishop “preach to the masses.”
Which has higher priority in your church—the choir or global missions?
Major Religions as a Percent of World Population, 1900-2000
Non-Christians in mid-2008 = 4,460,063,000
The Hardest To Reach Have The Fewest Missionaries Missionaries Per Million:
What is God doing in the world?
Most of the 453,000* foreign missionaries go where invited, not where most needed
148,000 Non-Christian urbanites are added per day
Increasing Global Urbanization
By 1950--7 of the top 25 cities were non-Christian.
About 155 were identified in 19983. Possibly 400 serve today, far less than 1 percent of the 118,600 US foreign missionaries4. African Americans are about 13 percent of the US population.
Slide 35
Slide 36
John Marrant by 1775 had somehow preached the Gospel to the Cherokee, Creek, Catawar and Housaw Indians.
Dr. Wm. Sheppard went to the Congo in 1821, becoming head of the American Presbyterian Congo Mission among the Bakuba tribe, going 1200 miles inland.
Dr. Aaron McMillan was a physician and Nebraska legislator before going with the American Board of Commissioners in 1929 to head an Angolan hospital.
Dr. Michael & Kay Johnson
As of 2/2006, African Americans had an annual buying power of 762 billion dollars1.
Ghana sends 500 missionaries per year. Her population is 22.1 million and her Gross National Income is 10 billion. African Americans spent 10.7 billion on household furnishings and equipment in 2004. Nigeria sends 2500 missionaries per year and has a Gross National Income of 74.2 billion dollars. African Americans spent this much on vehicles, insurance, clothing and gifts in 2004. Sources: The World Bank: http://devdata.worldbank.org/external/CPProfile.asp?PTYPE=CP&CCODE=GHA
Slide 43
One traditional church in Chattanooga with a budget of $120,000 spent .4 % on evangelistic home missions (to Blacks).
Some evangelical churches focus upon personal peace, wholeness and prosperity.
Materialism Leading to Little Cross-Cultural (CC) Mission Support Partially Explaining Other Factors in the Black Church
Particularly among newer independent churches, some give substantially.
Global missions is not simply the job of the white church. The African American church is a full partner among the world’s sister churches.
Nations open to missionaries are open to African Americans.
Jesus does send us as sheep among wolves (Matthew 10:16). He doesn’t promise safety.
God doesn’t give us a spirit of “timidity,” but of “power” (2 Tim. 1:7-NIV).
Ask God what He wants of YOU.
God has already given at least one spiritual gift to every Christian (1 Corinthians 12:7). It’s there to help other Christians. That spiritual gift can also be used to lead people to Christ.1
Ambassadors Fellowship www.ambassadorsfellowship.com/
Advancing Church in Missions Commitment http://pioneers.org/
Operation Mobilization www.om.org
Each year 400,000 go to mission fields for a few weeks to a few years1.
Mission Trips 2008
June 2008
Northern India—Uttar Pradesh: September 2008
Please pray for 6,000 African American missionaries