I love talking about my faith and what God is doing in my life. Sometimes it is all I can talk about. So it goes without saying that I love talking about the race. I will discuss it with pretty much anyone and everyone. My squadmates and I have sat around on video chat for countless hours over the past months just discussing what we are looking forward to. What our expectations are. We are so excited to see God work through that season of our lives! So we talk about it.
I’ve spoken with several people about the World Race. I have exclaimed excitedly where I will be going, explained community, described ministry, and gushed over where God is leading me…sometimes the response I receive in return looks something like this:
“Why don’t you do that in America?”
“You don’t have to go abroad to do mission work.”
“Americans need God’s love too.”
This is said as if I am the only missionary currently doing missionwork. As if it is all on me to reach the unreached of North America. But…what if I told you my heart isn’t here? My heart isn’t in the USA.
“I’m going to bring the gospel to the Nations!” I say. “But what about our inner cities?” You ask. “What about Detroit, New Orleans, the Appalachians, Pensacola, Memphis?” “But I’m going to share God’s love with orphans and the least of these!” I say. “But what about American orphans? What about the kids in our system? What about the least of ours? What about sharing God’s love with our homeless, our widows, our veterans, our forgotten, our abused?” You ask, desperate for me to change my mind on a dime.
What if I told you I’m not the only missionary? What if I told you that there are thousands of ministries and missionaries in the United States reaching every single demographic you listed? What if I told you there are tons of ministries doing everything they can to shine the light of Christ in the darkest places in the U.S.? What if I told you that God may have given you a passion to lobby for these people, and if He has, you could consider being a missionary and going to those here in the United States that need the gospel. That doesn’t necessarily mean packing up and moving to the inner city to work with an established ministry. That could mean working in your local community. That could mean getting involved in community service or starting a ministry reaching those around you from your church. “I’m not called to be a missionary,” you say. We are all called to be missionaries. As followers of Christ we obey the Word of God, and the product of obeying the Word of God is sharing our faith among those around us and spreading the Gospel. And those around us desperately need to hear His Word.
I have had one or two people speak with me adamantly about staying in the USA and ministering to “our own”. What if I told you that I don’t think Americans are any more important than foreigners? They aren’t any less important either. Whether you are American, Peruvian, Indian, African, European, Australian, whatever… we are all sinners in need of God’s perfect grace. We are all lost sheep who need to be found in the gospel. Americans are no more in need of Jesus than Africans are, nor vice versa. We all have souls that need saving! When we are saying “What about our people?” God is asking “What about my people? My sheep? My children?” And who are God’s people? Followers of Christ. Not American followers of Christ. Any person. The Iraqi woman living in the middle east is just a in need of God’s saving grace as the lukewarm American Christian. Neither is more important the the other. Both are souls in need of a savior.
And if you come in contact with a missionary who works stateside, encourage them. Let them know you appreciate what they’re doing. If you come in contact with a missionary who works abroad…do the same! Don’t tell them they need to stay here. If all of the US’s missionaries stayed stateside, (1) we would be disobeying the Word of God and (2) a vast majority of the worlds population will not be reached! So trust that these missionaries going abroad have indeed thought this through. Trust that they are heeding the calling God has placed on their heart (because really, noone else can know what that calling is) and trust that nearly any question you ask them, they’ve already asked themselves. Encourage them! Don’t tell them they shouldn’t go. In doing so, you could me messing with God’s plan for their lives. If you know a missionary, whether abroad or stateside, rejoice in knowing that wherever they are they will be sharing the Gospel and planting seeds so that the people around them may come to know Christ and be saved.
Jesus understood what an awesome task was before Him, so He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send more workers into His harvest field.”
Matthew 9:37-38
How can people invoke His name when they do not believe? How can they believe in Him when they have not heard? How can they hear if there is no one proclaiming Him? How can some give voice to the truth if they are not sent by God? As Isaiah said, “Ah, how beautiful the feet of those who declare the good news of victory, of peace and liberation.”
Romans 10:14-15
Hey all! Just an update where I am with fundraising. I’m around $180 away from my first goal which has to be in my account by the 26th! If 18 people donated $10 each, I would be there! Please prayerfully consider donating to my race.
Also, since I talk a lot about local ministry and the importance of us ALL being missionaries, I’d like to mention I’m volunteering with a new organization that reaches the kids in the foster system in my area called My Father’s Arrows and they could use your time and donations if you live in the Milton/Pace/Jay/Pensacola area 🙂
