The ends of the earth, the rest of my life Brace yourselves, and bear with me.
Each day, God is speaking to me with new revelation and new realization. Lately, He has been revealing to me the foundation and framework of my entire life on earth. From my oldest memory of feeling God’s presence before having knowledge of Him, to ditching my parents without a trace at Paul Brown Stadium to give my life to Christ at a Billy Graham conference at age 7. From God calling me to a life devoted to ministry at 13, to my confusion as I fled from His calling for the next decade. From a youthful understanding that He wanted my life for a great purpose, to realizing just what that purpose is today.
Now begins the insanity.
In June at our training camp for the World Race, God gave me a prophecy. God told me that our generation will see the great commission fulfilled (that being every human on earth will hear the truth of the gospel and learn of their salvation in surrendering to Jesus Christ as Lord). He also told me that I would have an important role in seeing this happen. (Like King David, John the Baptist, Apostle Paul type important role). What seemed like a cool, far off vision I couldn’t really imagine, is now being revealed to me in actualities.
“And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.” 1 Corinthians 12:28
God has been teaching me that He has called me and anointed me to be an apostle. An apostle is an ambassador for Christ, someone who is sent by the Lord to speak for Him and teach what He teaches. (Think David, John the Baptist, Paul). An apostle has many roles in the body of Christ, but all of them tie together in leading the charge against the gates of hell and leading the church to fulfill the great commission. To be a pioneer for the growth of the Kingdom of God. To be trusted with leading the body of Christ according to God’s will. Right now, there are more churches and Christians on earth than ever before. And, globally, we are seeing more miracles and salvations happening than ever before.
I previously wrote a blog that was aimed at encouraging, through criticism, the American church. While I still hold true to my words, I may have been a bit pessimistic. The church is sending people, and the body of Christ is growing because of it. For the first time in history, we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel on the great commission. With all of the people, funds, technology, and knowledge held in the global church, we will actually be able to see the day where every human on earth has heard the gospel. IF we commit to making it happen. IF we devote ourselves to it as the body of Christ. If we really read and understand the Bible, we would understand that this is the true purpose of the church in the New Testament, thus, it is the purpose of the global church today. We are called to follow Jesus by: humbly putting others before ourselves (Phil 2:5-8), preaching the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15), and make disciples of all nations (Matt 28:19-20).
Now, this doesn’t mean that every single believer must devote their lives to globe trotting and meeting all of the people who haven’t heard of Jesus Christ. But, if we are to call ourselves Christians (which means a little Christ), we must at least have an element of these in our lives as we are supposed to imitate Jesus. Especially as the body of Christ (the church). It’s non negotiable. Here in Zimbabwe, my brother, Pastor Shephard says it this way:
“Each day, every Christian should do four things.
1. Pray and talk to God and listen.
2. Read the Bible as it is God’s living word.
3. Be in fellowship and community with other Christians to disciple and encourage one another.
4. Tell someone about who Jesus is in their life and share His true gospel.”
I love this. It’s a simple and beautiful way to start. For some of us, however, it goes far beyond that. Some of us are called to do this in extreme ways, in extreme places. For me, this looks like the calling and anointing to be an apostle. What does that actually mean?
It means I am willing to go. Anywhere, any time. A bond-servant, or voluntary slave, to God’s will and call. The role of an apostle really centers around church planting and discipeling (think bold, active body of Christ sharing the gospel and making disciples, not a building with a cross on it). This will happen in America, as well as all the other nations. Personally, I feel a calling to be fearless and courageous. To go to places that are dangerous, hostile, uncomfortable, and unreached by the gospel of Christ. Led by His grace living a life that gives Him glory.
God has been teaching me a lot about my similarity to the apostle Paul, and just how similar my life may look to his. I’m a man who is as average as average gets and lacking in much. I am nothing but a sinner saved by grace. It is only by the grace of God that I can do anything, and anything I do is for His glory. It boils down to this: seeing the church realize and accomplish its purpose of fulfilling the great commission, every human on earth receiving the truth of the gospel of salvation, is far more important to me than anything else in my life because it’s what’s most important to God. But, why does this matter to you?
You can choose to be a part of it. My life is going to look something like this: a lot of traveling to different places. Churches and ministries around America, churches and ministries around the world, and hundreds of thousands of people in between hearing the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. (God told me that number in a prophecy. Yes, I know how crazy it sounds, and only God can make any of this happen). I may have an odd job here or there, but mostly the rest of my life is going to be all ministry, all the time. It may include longer periods of time leading a church in any given city or country. It may include a period of time spent living abroad sharing the gospel in the bush, or jungle, or dessert, building up the body of Christ where it has never existed before. It may include time spent at home resting with loved ones. But it will definitely include my obedience to whatever, wherever, whenever, God calls me.
Following the World Race, that what, where, when, is G42 Leadership Academy. It will be a season of equipping, preparing, and serving. I want to be more specific about what I will be starting in September. G42 Leadership Academy is a missions organization whose goal is to raise up and equip church leadership from Ephesians 4, that is, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists, in order to be leaders of the body of Christ in communities aiming to see the Kingdom of God grow and truly exist on earth. September-November, I will be in Mijas, Spain at G42. We will have classes that better equip us to be leaders within the body of Christ. This will involve many different areas of study, but it will all be aimed at ministry. While I’m at G42 academy, I will still be a missionary. My weekends and free time will still be spent sharing the gospel, making disciples, and serving those in need. In fact, much of what we learn there will be ways to do this even bigger and better.
The next three months, December-February will be spent in the mission field. For me (I’m hoping and praying, but not yet positive) this will be in Uganda. I would be living and serving in a refugee camp. In Sudan, there is a massive and terrible refugee crisis. Millions of people forced to flee from there homes with nothing, trapped now in Uganda. Families broken up, lives forever changed, no sense of hope for better circumstances in life. It’s a situation which greatly needs attention, help, and the hope of Jesus Christ.
Following this, March – May, I will be back at G42 Leadership Academy. We will debrief our time in the mission field, learn more about how to apply change to our next kingdom community, and help teach the next class of people at G42.
This next step at G42 is not just one where I am furthering my education, it is a next step in my life of ministry. And as I said before, it is a life that will constantly be spent serving the Lord in ministry. Because of this, I am looking to establish a system of long term support. By the time I complete G42 Leadership Academy in May 2019, I will need to raise $9,000. After that time, I will be fundraising for transportation, lodging, and food as I travel to different churches and ministries across America and other nations.
Please contact me if you would like to be a part of a monthly support team to help keep me going as I strive to meet God’s purpose for my life. Email: [email protected] Facebook: Isaiah Carter WhatsApp: +15133138427 G42: generation42.org/donations for intern Isaiah Carter. As I aim to complete the call the Lord has placed on my life to build up the body of Christ in all the nations, I will be living a simple life without much gain. I am prepared for difficulty, instability, and uncertainty. I am prepared for suffering, opposition, and discomfort. But it is my pleasure and privilege to serve the Lord and spread the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and disciple others to do the same. I pray that others will share in this vision and help support its fulfillment by giving and providing to help it happen. “Here am I. Send me.”
