This past weekend I was asked this question twice, once directly and the other indirectly. The Question is “why?”. The first time I was asked it was by my sister while chatting on the phone catching up. She basically said, “Why do you want to go on the World Race?” The Second time I was asked, it was indirectly, by Mr. Steury, A WGM missionary who was speaking at a WGM student center at Asbury University, where I went to school.
My sister and I had been catching up when she asked me why I wanted to go on the world race; it’s a question that I knew the easy answer to, to travel the world with a great group of people and do ministries. But digging deeper, why?
When Mr. Steury was talking at WGM he was talking about how WGM has been changing how they term what they do. For the longest time missions fields have been called just that, “fields”, it’s a term used to refer in general to the country or region where there are missionaries. A word that is now being used by WGM is the word “Cause”. WGM as an organization has nine causes listed on their website which listed below are Adult/Family Ministry, Children&Youth, Church Ministry, Community Health and Development, Education, Evangelism, Media, Medical and Support Ministries. These causes are the “Whys?” of WGM. Every ministry that WGM does fits underneath one of these “Causes”. And each one of these causes falls underneath the statement at the top of the wgm.org website…
“World Gospel Mission partners with individuals and churches worldwide to make disciples of Christ and encourage believers to become missions-active through ministries that reach the whole person—physically and spiritually—transforming communities”
That is why World Gospel Mission does what they do, their purpose isn’t to open lots of schools or hospitals or plant churches, but to make disciples of Christ. and all of the things/ministries that WGM does and partners in all over the world is for that purpose. So the question Mr. Steury left us with was, “What is your Why?”
So to answer my sisters question, “Why do I want to go on the World Race?” What is my Cause? How do I want to grow as I go?
I am going because the power of love is greater than the power of hate and death. I was blessed to be able to grow up in a Christian family with parents who love me, there are people all over this world who have never had anyone love them and have never been told that there is love out there for them. Not love from other people but the most perfect, whole, pure love from the one who is Love, the creator of the universe.
We must reject this culture of self promotion and self satisfaction.
As a Christian I don’t get to pick and choose who hears the gospel, we don’t have that right, we don’t get to play god. All we have to do is go out and speak of a God who loves always and is forgiving. Being used by God in itself is an incredible thing, He could do it by himself He doesn’t need us but He uses us. But for us to love Him, which is what He wants, we as humans are given a choice. Will we accept the gift of love from God or will we simply reject Him and try to do things our own way? For love to be love choice is a necessity. God chooses to love us and He wants our choice to love him in return. If God did not allow us to choose Him we would just be robots not having free will.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” John 3:16-21
“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20
Being bold, stepping out in faith, and declaring the love of God is why I’m going on the World Race.
