Missions Starts With Me
by Clint Chamberlain
The word missions means different things to different individuals. Our mission statement at Council Road says, “To love all people to Christ and to help them on their journey with God and others.” Even that statement can mean different things to each of us. The question becomes both personal and corporate. How are you living out your personal mission?
We could discuss serving in the church, volunteering in the community, going on foreign mission trips and being evangelistic: All of those things are missional. I believe the real heart of missions is seen in Matthew 22: 34-40. In this passage a Sadducee (a lawyer) asked Jesus, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” Jesus answered him by quoting two passages from TORA, Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18. I challenge you to look these verses up and read them in the context in which they were written. Jesus (paraphrasing here) tells the Sadducee that the greatest commandment is to love God with every part of your being, the physical, the spiritual and the emotional and to love others like we love ourselves. Loving myself isn’t my issue, my issue is loving God and others.
What does this have to do with missions? The answer is everything! The mission starts with me loving God with my whole life It is part of who I am, not what I do. The Christian journey is not about “doing,” it is about “becoming.” When we love God with everything, it gives us the capacity to love others. That is missional living. We are transformed to look more like Jesus when we love him with all our lives. That love then overflows into the lives of other individuals. The “doing” is an overflow of how well I am loving God. When I sense myself not being compassionate or loving toward others, I have learned to reflect on how well I am loving God in all areas of my life. Toward the end of our church covenant, you will find this statement, We will purpose together for the continuance of a faithful missional ministry in this church, as we sustain its worship, ordinances, disciplines, doctrines and spiritual virtues. We will contribute our tithes and offerings cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel through all nations for the Great Commission Cause. This statement talks of the things we do inside our church walls, outside our church walls and across the globe.
As we prepare for missions season in April, what is your mission? If something doesn’t come to mind, I would love to help you discover your mission. God has each of us here for a reason, and we are part of the body. We all have a purpose as part of the body. I want to encourage you to find your purpose. On Sunday, April 28, after both worship services, we will have three areas set up to help you discover areas of missional opportunities. One of the areas will be all of the service and volunteer opportunities we have within our church. Another area will focus on missional opportunities in our local community. The third area will focus on the global opportunities available. Be sure you stop by and discover how you can live out your missional calling. God has called us to be participants in the gospel, NOT spectators. Find your place, and you will find true joy.
Missions starts with you loving God and then loving others.
In Him,
Clint Chamberlain
