Here I am in Africa. Livingstone, Zambia actually, famous for the Victoria Falls. I’m sitting in a coffee shop with some of my new team mates (God has blessed me with a new team to live life with these last 3 months on the race, Team Goshen.) From the moment I stepped off the bus at the bus stop here in Livingstone, I experienced culture shock. Life in Africa has been a blessing. I can see why Africa is such a “popular” missions field. The people are friendly, the children are awfully adorable, the culture is so rich and not to mention the high amounts of poverty, HIV and famine that seem to take over the population. But what is going through my head is that since Africa is our last stop and I have been in Central America and Asia, I’m starting to ask myself some concerning questions.
How come Africa is one of the most thought of places for missions?
Why do most people feel the powerful presence of God’s great commission, to be sent out and make disciples of all nations, here in Africa?
Now, these questions may not pertain to every single person, but from what I gather most people would also have these thoughts, who have been to Africa or to anyone who has seen a cliché missions video (70% about Africa.)
In Matthew 10:8 it says, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.” And in, let’s not forget about the Great Commission, Matthew 28:19 it says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” These verses are both about going out into all the world and proclaiming the good news, being mini “Jesus’s” and praying for miracles. But people often forget that Africa is not the only place in the world that has poverty, famine, demonic spirits and a people group that needs to be ministered and discipled to.
Our God is so much greater than we can even fathom. Let’s not limit our horizon, but rather expand it and let God move us into other places in the world, where needs are just as important and people are just as loved by our Creator.
Africa is a beautiful place and it holds a special place in my heart, but I can never put Africa above or below any other place in the world. Because the reality is, people are broken all over the world, even in America (as hard as that may seem to you). Whether physically poor, spiritually poor or emotionally poor, we are called to love and bring the power that is in the name of Jesus to all people.
