I’ve been thinking lately about what I’m starting to
consider one of the world’s most difficult mission fields. I’ll give you some hints.
It’s not where a majority of people live in shacks with little food or clean water
It’s not where people have to hike miles to attend a church service.
It’s not where people have to learn a second language to
minister effectively.
It’s the USA.
America. “The States.“ It’s my neighborhood, my town, my state, my
country!
People in America have houses; many have jobs and can feed
and clothe their families. Not only do
we have houses, we have running water, efficient plumbing, electricity, more
than one room in our homes, and usually more “stuff” than any person truly needs. But because of what we’ve been blessed with,
many turn AWAY from God rather than towards Him. They see that they can be comfortable,
provide for themselves, and they put God in a box in the basement. Please note I said many. By no means do ALL Americans
act this way, but for the Christians in America, that’s what we’re up
against! Complacency! When you don’t have to rely on God to provide
your every need (not even touching
the wants), it’s easy to not rely on
Him for anything!
America has churches.
Oh boy do we have churches. I’ve
been through what is considered the Bible Belt and there is quite literally a
church on every corner. Catholic,
Lutheran, Evangelical, Conservative, Liberal, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, Interdenominational,
Nondenominational. If you want it in a
church, you can probably find it in a church-and there will likely be a coffee
bar there too. We can worship
freely-without fear of persecution from the government, without fear of being
cast out of our families, or even killed by our families for what we
believe. And yet the churches that are
experiencing the most growth are those in closed countries-those where people
truly have to decide if God is more important than their lives and
comfort.
I speak English. All
of my friends speak English. In fact, in
America, I don’t know if I know anyone who doesn’t speak English. I can communicate. I can ask questions, I can make statements, I
can preach, teach, sing, and encourage without needing a translator (who I am
convinced sometimes just makes up their own ideas when we’re preaching). In foreign countries, I can easily shrug off
the fact that I can’t always share the Gospel with people because I don’t speak
their language. I don’t speak Thai,
Khmer, Tagalog, Swahili, and my Spanish is still a bit rusty. But when I am in America, I have an extremely
hard time sharing the Gospel-even with family and friends I care about
immensely, and I can tell them in English!
With all of that being said, and the experiences I have been
blessed to have these last 7 months (and those I’m looking forward to in the
final 4), God has placed a burden on my heart for America. I’ve seen a lot of churches, seen the Holy Spirit moving, and I have loved loved loved experiencing
cultures and people groups all over God’s great earth, but I’m excited to see
what God can use me for at home.
Stay tuned for a Cambodia picture blog/video coming soon!
