“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5 (ESV)
By Mark Renfroe
What has changed in global missions that affects your local church today? The answer to the question could be a book, but I will present ten points to help you minister locally and globally for the glory of Jesus. Some of these are opportunities, some are challenges, and some are neutral.
1. Increasing accessibility to missionaries.
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.
Throughout the Scriptures, when the judgement of God fell on Israel, he would look throughout the land, not for a strong man or a smart man or even a wise man. He looked for a praying man, a man who was grieved by sin the same way he was, who strived to live righteously and longed for the holiness of God. Some people like to only talk about the wrath of God.
“For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” Hebrews 13:11-14 (ESV)
In Matthew 5, Jesus talks about the blessing of being persecuted for the sake of Christ and the kingdom of God. It’s interesting that it never says, “blessed are the blessed” or “blessed are the rich.” But to prop up the notion that financial gain is godly we hear many preachers say this. Jesus says, “blessed are those who are persecuted, blessed are the meek and blessed are the poor in spirit.”
In the modern Western church we have the outside of the cup polished to a perfect sheen. For most today, you past a sign that says “Welcome Home” outside, and there’s coffee available in the lobby, and the services start right on time (or a minute after), then there’s a pitch for women’s ministry or Bible study groups, and the music only lasts 35 minutes, and the sermon hits all five points but doesn’t go over 45 minutes, then everyone’s out on time.
“The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.” Proverbs 10:28 (ESV)
The greatest aim in the lives of most people is to be happy. This is what we think we are chasing when we chase anything in this life, relationships, careers, hopes and dreams. We do this in an effort to arrive at a place we call happiness.
The church isn’t every group of people who gather together on Sunday. The remnant, or the true church, was established and is built and sustained by the person of Jesus Christ. Where should we gather? A great kids program, a state-of-the-art sound system and multimedia setup, a great band or coffee shop, or a celebrity pastor shouldn’t have anything to do with where you go to church.
