Is it possible for me to be a missionary near my home? With so many people groups in the world having so little access to the gospel, some might say that North America is no longer a mission field that deserves our attention.
Is it possible for me to be a missionary near my home? With so many people groups in the world having so little access to the gospel, some might say that North America is no longer a mission field that deserves our attention.
On the other hand, I have heard people suggest that we should not send missionaries to other countries while we still have so many people to reach for Christ in our own country. Which is the correct view? Both views contain an element of truth.
Most of the rest of the world does have a proportionally far greater number of those without Jesus. However, the number of lost people in America is such that only a few countries have more people in need of salvation.
However, both views fail to take into account that the plan that Jesus gave to the church is a balanced plan; it leaves no part of the world untouched if His followers will obey his commission. He calls on us to be missionaries wherever we are.
The Great Commission (Matthew 28: 18-20) is the overarching command Jesus gave for spreading his message and his church. The carrying out of this plan will reach all nations and people groups.
If we are obedient both home and international missions will be effective. God calls us all to serve as missionaries, some to serve near home and some to serve in more distant locations.
In Acts 1:8, Jesus gave the geographic outline of his plan. The work of his followers was to involve each of the following: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world. There was further specific assignment that we know of that Jesus gave to his first followers as to where they would go after his ascension into Heaven.
A missionary is usually seen as one who crosses barriers with the gospel seeking to reach people for Christ. The barriers might be geographic, cultural, linguistic, or even economic.
Many think of missionaries as only those who serve in distant locations. However, the Great Commission, including the Acts 1:8 version, does not distinguish between those who are witnesses close to home from those who serve at great distances from their home. We must, though, be faithful in the places where God has us.
When we are involved in a short-term mission trip to another country, we do not have to be reminded that we are on mission.
The culture is very different, the food looks and tastes different, we may not be able to speak the language of the people, and we may face hardships that we don’t normally face at home. We are reminded 24/7 why we are there and that we have a mission to perform. We know we have a very limited period in the country and we want to do all we can while we are there.
Nonetheless, we are instructed to be on mission 24/7, at home just as much as when we are in a distant land. We may find ourselves lulled into complacency by the familiar surroundings, recognized accents, the food we love, and all the comforts of home. We sometimes forget that we are to be on mission wherever our Jerusalem, our nearby Judea and Samaria, and our uttermost locations may be.
Being missionaries at home can sometimes be more challenging than doing the same work away from home. When the church in Jerusalem was scattered because of the persecution that arose in connection with Stephen (Acts 11:19), there were those who stayed behind and ministered in the face of the persecution. We know that these later faced some real economic difficulties in addition to the persecution that they had experienced (Acts 11: 29).
However, in America, despite our current economic challenges, the difficulties of our being effective home missionaries generally come with less financial pressures, almost no persecution, and little problem adjusting to a very different culture. It is far more likely that we will be sidelined by responsibilities or by distractions.
When we go to a foreign country we are able to, at least temporarily, put our daily hands-on responsibilities back home on hold.
Not so, when we are close to home. We have those things which demand our attention.
We may get so caught up in these responsibilities that we forget that we have a commission that calls us to be missionaries in the midst of this busyness.
Also, here at home there are so many activities, hobbies, sports events, and entertainment options, both in our houses and outside the home, that these can cause us to be distracted from being witnesses where we live.
We must forge a new commitment to reaching our land for Christ and being on call at all times.
Those who commit themselves to being missionaries at home might ask: “Where would we serve?,” or “Who would we try to reach?” As we think about missions to North America what are ways that we could be home missionaries?
-1) We can be missionaries to the tremendous number of international immigrants who now live and visit among us. So many of them in their new home are willing to learn and listen from Christians who will show Christlike hospitality to them. We can show our concern by helping those who wish to learn better English skills. The closest convenience store in my neighborhood is run by a Vietnamese family. The closest convenience store to my church is run by immigrants from the Middle East. Recently, members of our church went by that store and dropped off a notice to let them know that we were praying for them. Nearby universities are full of international students who would love to develop a relationship with an American family to better learn our culture. What better way could there be for a Christian family to introduce our Savior to them.
-2) Our cities need home missionaries. Once, Southern Baptist churches dotted the landscapes of especially the urban South. All too often churches and/or their members have fled the city for what they consider the more desirable environments on the outskirts. This has left vast areas of central cities with fewer and fewer churches as lighthouses to the residents of declining neighborhoods. Many of these neighborhoods are in as much need of a Christian presence as anywhere in the world. We need individuals and churches that will see these places as their mission field. We need home missionaries who will work in the city, witness in the city, and live in the city.
-3) Our country has been battered with one disaster after another. Hundreds of thousands of people have been impacted. Many have lost their homes to fire, flooding, and storms. We need people to become missionaries at home by getting trained in Disaster Relief. These trained missionaries can then be effective in going with others who have been trained to minister to hurts and to share the gospel to those who are open because someone has cared about them in their time of trouble. Our current economic crisis is a disaster of another kind and provides ample opportunities for Christians to minister to those who have suffered loss of jobs, or medical coverage.
-4) Our nation is filled with various kinds of institutions that need individuals who will feel called to go and be missionaries to the people God loves in those places. Nursing homes, hospitals, jails, juvenile detention centers, and various kinds of group homes are filled with people who need to experience God’s love. An individual who cares can be used by God as a missionary in these places to be “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5: 20). Christians are even being used in schools of all levels to be salt and light. These are fruitful mission fields.
The Acts 1:8 Challenge (see
www.actsone8.com) provides churches with ways to engage their members in every facet of the Great Commission.
This plan, put together by several Southern Baptist entities, gives practical ways for churches and individuals to engage their Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and uttermost parts of the world.
Supporting North American Missions through the Annie Armstrong Offering is another way that we can be involved in missions here at home. This offering helps home missionaries at all levels who are seeking to win North America to Christ.
When a person goes to serve in an international setting as a missionary for an extended period of time, they sometimes are involved in a commissioning service. They are challenged to be faithful witnesses in far-off locations. These services are meaningful as family and friends often gather for this setting apart of those who have sacrificed so much to represent Christ around the world.
I wonder if we should not also have commissioning services for those of us who will remain, for the most part, in our home countries being witnesses as we live our lives.