Is Mission For Me?
Yes, mission is for every follower of Jesus: Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:19
Almost any skill, ability, and occupation can be part of mission
What does God want me to do?
Where should I go?
What should I do?
What preparation do I need?
What does God want me to do?
God guides people in many ways
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By making them aware of needy people and places
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Through a verse or passage in the Bible
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Through personal circumstances
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By giving them a ‘tug in their heart’ about a situation
Is there a situation, in your country or another place, that makes you say,
“It’s not supposed to be like that!” And, you would like to do something about it?
What can you do to find God’s plan for you?
- Pray and ask for God to guide you
- Learn about areas of need
Go to mission conferences
Ask your pastor/church leader
Contact mission agencies
Search the web
Attend a missionary training institute
- Talk to people about your desire to serve God in mission…
Friends, parents, pastors/church leaders, business people, professionals
experienced cross-cultural workers, mission professors/trainers
Do not expect everyone to give you the same answer or advice.
- Ask God to use you in mission where you are now
God usually does not make the whole path clear at one time, but He will guide you one step at a time
Would you like to talk to someone?
Where should I go?
Today mission is from ‘everywhere to everywhere’
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Previous ‘sending countries’ have now become mission fields
- Immigration has brought unreached peoples to ‘our doors’
- However, there still is a great need
In the 10/40 window
Particularly among unreached Muslim people groups
Not sure of where to serve? At home or abroad?
- Make a list of situations that captivate your thoughts and emotions
- Research…
People, who…
Have not heard the Gospel
Have no one to disciple and teach them
Do not have God’s Word in their language
Cannot fellowship with other believers
Social problems and injustices…
Poverty, homelessness
Exploitation, people not having a voice
Aids/Disease
Persecution
Under-development, lack of…
Food, clean drinking water, sanitation
Education
Housing
Adequate health care
Do you want to talk to someone?
What should I do?
Do something that…
- Helps you engage with people in a meaningful way
- Matches your personality, skills, abilities, and interests
What can you do?
- List your giftings, qualifications, experience
- This is helpful because God usually asks people to work in the areas of their gifting and training
What do you enjoy doing? Find interesting?
- This is important because mission work can be very demanding and tedious
- Enjoying what you do will help you…
Last longer
Feel more fulfilled and useful
Be a positive witness to Jesus
Serve your people better
Do you need further preparation or training?
- This may be necessary for ministry purposes
- Or a visa, if you plan to work in another country
Do you plan to work in another country?
- You will need a visa
- In most Muslim countries it is not possible to get a ‘missionary’ visa
- But you usually can get a visa as a student, skilled worker, or professional. For example…
Student of language or anthropology
International business or finance
Linguistics
Community development or medical work
Teaching in schools, colleges, universities
Teaching English as a foreign language
Sports
Human resources, personal development
Administration
Information Technology
Tourism
Can you do Business as Mission (BAM)?
- BAM combines both business goals and mission goals
- It can be a great way to…
Model biblical principles and business ethics
Provide discipling in real-life situations
Create dignified jobs for the poor and marginalised
Provide necessary services and products
Model good environmental stewardship
Transfer skills and training
- Check these sites:
Speak to someone in ReachAcross about what you can do in mission or if you need further training and preparation
What preparation do I need?
Different mission work needs different preparation
For all mission work the following are important:
- A good understanding of the Bible
- Living by the Bible’s teaching
- A 'heart' for telling people about Jesus, maybe a particular people group
- Training in evangelism and discipleship
- A well-balanced life: physical, emotional, and spiritual
- Ability to work in a team
- Understanding yourself, particularly...
Your strengths and weaknesses, your emotional well-being
Your preferred way of working, learning, relaxing
How your personality will impact others
If you plan to do cross-cultural mission work, you will need additional training in:
- Cultural dynamics
- Understanding the religion of the people you will work with
- Language learning
- Working in multi-cultural teams
Also, prepare by:
- Doing a short term of service
- Making exploratory trips to learn about…
Work and ministry opportunities
Visa requirements
Further training and/or experience needed
- Developing a support team to…
Pray for you
Support you financially
Provide practical, emotional, and spiritual help as you need it
Speak to someone about mission preparation