One of my last Sundays at home a missionary visited our church. As he was sharing about the work they are doing in Mexico and their life as missionaries, I had a moment of panic. Suddenly the thought flashed, “Do I know enough doctrine?”
Thankfully it passed quickly because it really is a silly worry. First, He will provide whatever I need, even words and doctrine if necessary. Second, that’s not even my job. Yes, I know I’m on a mission trip. Yes, I understand it’s with a Christian organization, and we are to be sharing the gospel. Yes, I have read the Great Commission. BUT what did Christ say is the second greatest commandment? “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt 22:39)
During our training we were asked more than once, “Are you willing to be number 3? How about 8?” The question goes back to the statistic that it takes an average of 9 times hearing the Gospel or encountering Christ before a person will accept Christ as their savior. On Friday, our ministry contact here in Chaing Mai gave us an orientation of the various ministries we will be part of while in Thailand. She very clearly and very adamantly told us, “You will not preach. In the bars you will not talk about Jesus. You are not missionaries, you are tourists.” Whoa! What? Then what are we supposed to do?
Love
We are supposed to go out each day prayed up and “wearing Jesus on our skin.” We are to build relationships with the people we meet. Not just the girls in the bars or the kids in the slums, or the monks, our ministry targets, but each and every person we encounter. We may be number 3, the person who said a kind word or offered a helping hand. We may be number 7 and get to share our testimony. We may be number 1, the crazy odd person with something different. Some day we may be number 9 and get the opportunity to introduce someone to Yeshua. But it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we love and build relationship.
