Admin note: We’d like to welcome Ali Shaw to our writing team! Ali is a wife, mom of three daughters, and a blogger with a great heart. Meet Ali and her writing below.
Showing Jesus
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
~Matt 28:19,20 ESV
The Great Commission is a tenet of the Christian faith. Because we’re designed to reflect Jesus, God has blessed Christians with the responsibility and privilege of shining His light. We are commanded by Christ to go, make disciples, baptize, and teach others to observe His commandments. But how does this work when you feel God is asking you to stay put? How can you be missionally minded during a season of staying?
A verse in Acts, spoken by our resurrected Messiah, encourages me:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
~Acts 1:8 ESV
As Believers, we may be asked to stay put in what equates to our “Jerusalem,” like some of the very first disciples. But, wherever we are called, our purpose is the same. As the collective Church, we still are asked to go, make disciples, baptize, and teach others. Individually, we may only participate in a few of these steps. Regardless, keeping this missional mindset in our daily lives is crucial.
Showing Jesus by Shining
The whole world is a mission field–from the far away jungles to your neighbor’s yard. This is why we need to show Jesus tirelessly! A familiar Christian cliché states that we may be “the only Bible some people ever read.” The way we reflect Christ may be all some people ever come to know about Christianity.
I believe that the closer your relationship is with God, the better you can reflect Him to others. The overflow of spending time with Him each day, praying, reading, studying and learning of His gracious heart and sacrificial love will touch people you encounter. Ask Him prayerfully to strengthen you to be like Him. When those around you wonder just what it is that makes you different, be ready to tell them (1 Peter 3:15)!
Showing Jesus by Supporting Others
Just because you aren’t traveling doesn’t mean you can’t be involved. If you are in a season of staying, look for opportunities to support world missions. Consider asking your pastor for ways you can personally help missionaries and missions organizations. Supporting them financially, volunteering your time and talents, and partnering in prayer are all needed and can usually be done locally.
Carefully assess the talents and skills God has given you. What gifts have you been blessed with that could be useful to missions? Are you an encourager? Perhaps you could write letters of encouragement to those serving on the mission field. Are you artsy? Maybe that item handmade with His love could be delivered to someone on the other side of the globe. Are you a writer? Use the internet as a platform to share the gospel worldwide. Maybe “all” you can do is pray? Sister, you are certainly needed! Pray for missionaries and the people groups who need to hear the story of Christ all around the world. You get the idea.
Here are a few resources you may wish to check out to get you started:
- Pray for a Wycliffe Missionary
- Puppets for Orphans
- Book: [amazon_link id=”1850783586″ target=”_blank” ]Windows on the World[/amazon_link] (Great to read with older elementary kids and up, this book is a great introduction to various people groups around the world and how to pray for them.)
- Book: [amazon_link id=”0830857249″ target=”_blank” ]Operation World[/amazon_link] by Jason Mandryk, InterVarsity Press. (Defined as the “global prayer handbook.”)
Remember…
The Great Commission is all about love. It’s about loving Christ enough to obey Him. It’s about loving our fellow man enough to share the gospel message and making the effort to disciple them. If you are in a season of staying, you can still share the gift of salvation and shine His light brightly.
How do you stay missionally minded during seasons of staying?
Tweetables:
“How can you be missionally minded during a season of staying? http://wp.me/p1Su7F-2Nv <- Some ideas from @HeartfeltbyAli at @DoNotDepart” – Click here to tweet this.
“The way we reflect Christ may be all some people ever come to know about Christianity. http://wp.me/p1Su7F-2Nv via @DoNotDepart” – Click here to tweet this.
Ali, such great questions you address in this post. Sometimes I feel lacking in my participation in “missions,” but, like you’ve mentioned here, there’s so much we can do *in* home, in our communities, and from our homes to support faraway missions.
Great reminder here, too: “The way we reflect Christ may be all some people ever come to know about Christianity.”
Thanks for this post!
Glad you enjoyed it, Caroline! These are all things God has been showing me lately.. even in staying put, a global difference can be made! God bless!
“God has blessed Christians with the responsibility and privilege of shining His light.”
I love how you put that, Ali. Sometimes we think of sharing Jesus as more duty and drudgery instead of our joy and honor. So I like your reminder that it’s all about love. And out of that love, we can share Him in many different ways around the world, including from home.
“Joy and honor”– yes exactly, Lisa! Love can reach such long distances and the fruit can be multiplied endlessly. Blessings to you and yours!
I love this focus on seasons of staying, Ali. So true that God calls all of those who follow Him to be involved in helping others follow. Welcome to the Do Not Depart team and our vision for writing about the Word!