What is the Role of The Local Church in Missions?
In Testimonies to the Church Volume 6, Mrs. White shared this short story:
“An American businessman who was an earnest Christian, in conversation with a fellow worker remarked that he himself worked for Christ twenty-four hours of the day. ‘In all my business relations,’ he said, ‘I try to represent my Master. As I have opportunity, I try to win others to Him. All day I am working for Christ. And at night, while I sleep, I have a man working for Him in China,’” (p. 29).
As a ministry whose focus is the other side of the globe, we love to hear stories like this. We love to see God’s children getting involved in foreign missions. But what if we took this concept and applied it, not just in our own individual lives, but in our local churches?
Mrs. White herself suggested the idea just a few paragraphs later, saying:
"Why should not the members of a church or of several small churches unite to sustain a missionary in foreign fields? If they will deny themselves of selfish indulgences, dispense with needless and hurtful things, they can do this. Brethren and sisters, will you not help in this work? I beseech you to do something for Christ, and to do it now. Through the teacher whom your money shall sustain in the field, souls may be saved from ruin to shine as stars in the Redeemer's crown." E. G. White, Testimonies, vol. 6., p. 30
Our local churches are the greatest spheres of influence for individual church members. When churches prioritize foreign missions, the members are encouraged to take part. As members pray for overseas mission work and pool their resources to support it, they help enable God’s message to go forward in ways it previously could not.
A few years ago, a church in Arizona decided to support foreign missions by giving a tithe of their church budget. Through that sacrifice, they were able to sustain a mission project in Thailand for several years.
In early 2020, in the midst of building a new church, our home church in Tennessee decided to become more involved in foreign missions by sponsoring ten Bible Workers in South India. The local church leadership in India wanted to do evangelism in new villages, but didn’t have the funds to hire workers themselves.
Our church-sponsored Bible Workers started their service amidst COVID-19 lockdowns, but that did not stop God from working through them in a powerful way. When public transportation was shut down, they walked to their assigned villages to pray and study the Bible with whomever was willing. Since these Bible Workers began, 40+ people from mostly Hindu backgrounds have been baptized. At least two new groups are meeting every Sabbath, and the work in these villages continues to grow. (See the next story to hear a powerful testimony from one of these workers.)
A church’s support of foreign missions does not only benefit the work overseas, however. We have at times heard the question, if we send our money overseas, what will happen to our local church? What will happen to the work here at home? Mrs. White had this to say:
"The home missionary work will be farther advanced in every way when a more liberal, self-denying, self-sacrificing spirit is manifested for the prosperity of foreign missions; for the prosperity of the home work depends largely, under God, upon the reflex influence of the evangelical work done in countries afar off." E. G. White, Testimonies, vol. 6., p. 27.
By supporting foreign missions through our churches we are collectively choosing to become outward focused. We grow together in Christ, and as a reflection of that growth, God can grow our ministry efforts and make us more effective in reaching out to our communities.
While it’s hard to quantify the blessings God has brought about through a church’s support of foreign missions, we have seen that the churches that embrace missions as part of their church’s goals are are growing and flourishing in their membership and outreach.
How involved is your church in foreign missions? Does it have a vested interest in God’s work overseas? How is it benefiting from the "reflex influence" Mrs. White mentions in the quote above?
We invite you to consider praying and asking God how He can use your church more in taking the Gospel to the world.
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If you and your church are interested in being more involved in missions, or you would like to learn more about sponsoring Bible Workers to reach new areas in India, please email us at info@jesus4asia.org.
Joy and the Light of Jesus
The story of a Bible Worker sponsored by the South Bay SDA Church
Bible Worker Joy, pictured left, praying with a lady in the village where she is serving
One day, Joy and her husband went to visit one of their church members to pray and study the Bible with him. When they got to his house, they met his friend, Mr. Chandran, who was there visiting. Joy and her husband invited Mr. Chandran to stay, and he agreed. When they finished their prayer and Bible study, they got Mr. Chandran’s address and phone number so they could visit him at his own home.
The following week, Joy and her husband went to Mr. Chandran’s house. He was not yet home, so they were greeted by his wife and sister-in-law. When the ladies found out who Joy and her husband were, they told him how different Mr. Chandran was after that day. They said he had asked his wife to remove all the idols from their home and throw them away. Joy and her husband were surprised. Mr. Chandran had only received one Bible study. What had made him take that stand?
A few moments later, Mr. Chandran came home and warmly welcomed Joy and her husband. Then he began to explain to them what he had experienced on the day they first met.
“As you were praying,” Mr. Chandran said to Joy, “a light was shining.”
Mr. Chandran was so touched by the prayer and the light that was shown to him. Immediately he made a decision to worship only the Lord Jesus Christ, and not any other gods. Then he shared his decision with his family, threw out his idols, and started worshiping the Creator. Please pray for Mr. Chandran in his family as they grow in faith.
Joy, along with nine other JFA Bible Workers, are being sponsored by our home church in Tennessee. We are so excited to see how God is working through Joy and her fellow workers to reach people for Christ.
If you would like to learn more about how your church can sponsor Bible Workers, please email us at info@jesus4asia.org.
To support the work of other Bible Workers in India, please click the button below.