“Why go to the mission field when there are so many needs right here at home?” Almost anyone who has responded to the call to ministry has either had this question posed to them or has seriously pondered it themselves. The big questions in the call to go are most often “Where do I go? Where will I serve? Should I go to the mission field or stay and serve at home? How do I discover where I am to serve when there are needs everywhere?”
The current generation of young people entering ministry have a sincere desire to be gospel-centered in their approach to ministry. Yet in this generation, we are sending fewer missionaries to the foreign field than in the previous generations. The church is called to take the gospel to the uttermost, to preach the gospel to every creature. Has God ceased to call laborers? Is the church no longer sending laborers? Or does the problem lie at the feet of those who are called?
I believe that at the heart of the labor shortage is a misconception of the biblical call to ministry.
I believe that the reason few are willing to go abroad is because they who are called to ministry are not considering the implications and imperatives of what it means to be separated unto the gospel. Those who are separated to the gospel are dedicated, as Christ was, to fulfill the will and work of the Father.
As a general rule, gospel ministry should not be need driven. Gospel ministry is to be driven by a passion to fulfill the Great Commission, which is the will and work of the Father. When choosing the where of service, we should be motivated by the will of the Father, not necessarily the needs in a particular place. Needs are everywhere. Put your finger anywhere on a map and you can assume that there is a need there. I am sure if you are seeking a place to serve based on the need, any pastor or missionary in any state or country will provide you a lengthy list of needs you could fulfill in their location.
If we are going to fulfill the Great Commission, we must begin by understanding what the imperative is: we are commanded to go make disciples of every nation.
If the imperative is to make disciples of every nation (people groups) the implication therefore is that we who are called to ministry must be going where there are no disciples. We must be consumed with a passion to make Christ known where He is not named. When obedience to the last command of Christ becomes the first step in choosing where we go, I believe there will be a revival in the missionary work force.
Throughout Scripture and in the life of the early church obedience to Christ’s command was the primary concern. Needs were met as a result of the fulfillment of the Great Commission. The planting of gospel-preaching local churches is the greatest solution to the true need of mankind. The first love of the early church must become our first love—that the earth be filled with His glory (Psalm 72:19).
This was the passion of Jesus. He was consumed with zeal for the glory of His Father. Christ came to do the Father’s will and to bring Him glory. Jesus told His disciples that His “meat was to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34). Near the end of His earthly ministry, Christ prayed triumphantly “I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do.”
Jesus came to earth on a mission. His mission was twofold. In John 12:32, Jesus states, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto me.” Jesus came to earth to die for the sins of all men. This He accomplished as He bore our sin debt, suffering the full judgement of the wrath of God on the cross, fulfilling the will of the Father. When we put our faith in Christ, we not only are born-again, we identify with His death and resurrection. In fact, Paul told us that we are crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20). We are called to lift up the cross of Christ, to preach Christ and Christ crucified, the only means of salvation.
Jesus also stated that His death would “draw all men unto Himself.” The second part of Christ’s twofold mission was to draw all men to Himself. Jesus declared in John 10:16-17, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.” Jesus came for the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24) but the Father’s plan would prove to be much larger in scope. Jesus was sent because God so loved the world! The death of Christ made a way for the Gentile nations to come to God. The mission of drawing all men unto Christ is a mission unfinished—a task that is still being carried out by the church today. This is the mission of the church. We have been commissioned by the authority of Christ to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
The disciples understood the imperative to go but did not fully understand how they would carry out the mission.
By the time Jesus ascended to Heaven, the gospel was still contained to one location: Israel. The disciples understood the imperative to go but did not fully understand how they would carry out the mission. In Acts 1, Jesus instructs His disciples to not depart from Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the Father. A major paradigm shift was about to take place in the way God operated in the world. The temple veil was torn, and the followers of Christ would receive the indwelling Spirit. As Jews, the disciples naturally asked if the kingdom was to be restored to Israel at that time (Acts 1:6). In other words, they wanted to know if they were to fulfill mission by ruling from Jerusalem as Christ promised (Matthew 19:28).
Jesus reveals to them that mission would not be carried out by the nation of Israel and is no longer to be centralized around the temple at Jerusalem. Rather, they would receive power, after that the Holy Ghost had come upon them and they were to be witnesses unto Him in both Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8). They knew they were called to make disciples. They had not yet grasped the implication of the calling—to go make disciples where the lost are located.
Acts 1:8 is not an individual mandate. It is not even a command. Acts 1:8 is a revelation of the progression of the fulfillment of the Great Commission by the church.
The Great Commission is a reorganization of operation. God’s plan is to spread the message of the gospel by scattering the church, His Spirit-empowered witnesses, planting pockets of believers among all people groups. The church made up of individual believers is the temple of God. Mission through the local church is no longer centralized to the Temple in Jerusalem, as it was for the nation of Israel. The church is to be a witness among the nations, not just to the nations. If the imperative is to go make disciples of every nation, Jesus tells us that the implication is to go until the uttermost is reached.
The Uttermost?
So where is the uttermost? The uttermost is where Christ is not known. The church is to be actively engaged in reaching the uttermost. The uttermost today is not so much a geographical location as it is the condition of a given place. To the Chinese believer, the United States is the uttermost (strictly geographically speaking). While there are certainly far less people who have access to the gospel in China than North America, not everyone is called to go to the foreign field.
Jesus does not expect everyone to go. He does expect us to actively engage our uttermost. Your next-door neighbor may have never had the gospel clearly presented to him in his lifetime. He is your uttermost. You may live in an area where large segments of immigrants are moving to. They are possibly coming from restricted access nations and have never heard the gospel. They are your uttermost. Every Christian is a witness and must be seeking to evangelize those who have never heard the gospel. Not until every believer personalizes the Great Commission and makes the command to reach the uttermost a command to reach my uttermost, we will not see the work of God completed.
Today, as in the early days of the church, it seems as if the gospel has been contained to a few locations.
Finding your where in the call to go is usually the number one concern of those called to ministry. Today, as in the early days of the church, it seems as if the gospel has been contained to a few locations. North America, parts of Asia and Latin America are saturated with the gospel and gospel preachers. But what of the unreached nations throughout the 10/40 window? Who is called to go there? If we would begin with the Great Commission, we will discover that considering the uttermost, where Christ is not named, should and must be our priority when choosing where to serve.
If you have sensed the call of God to ministry and do not know where to serve, consider going where very few are ministering. If you are called to preach then you are obligated by Christ to consider going where there are no preachers. It is my sincere prayer that this book will challenge you to evaluate the imperative of your calling in light of the implications of the Great Commission. May the command to make Christ known in the uttermost part of the earth become your primary objective, until the whole earth is filled with His glory.