The Great Adventure
Don't miss the incredible joy of living on mission with Jesus.
From Monday through Wednesday, Barie and I hosted neighborhood families in our front yard for three days of kids’ clubs with our church. The picture above is from the last day, showing the kids and parents who attended, as well as the student leaders who led the club. We loved connecting with old friends and making new friends. The whole experience reenergized our love for missionary work, the great adventure of stepping out in faith to love people and share the hope of Christ.
In many ways, it felt like a return to our church planting days. In 2006-2007, Barie and I were blessed to lead a team of everyday missionaries to plant a new church in Round Rock. We served our city, hosted our neighbors, shared the gospel, prayed for revival, and loved people from every walk of life. We linked arms with other believers who wanted to be on mission together in the city.
As our church has grown in organizational complexity, it’s been easy to lose focus, spending more time building systems than reaching people. I’m not minimizing the importance of healthy systems, especially in a growing church. But what I realized this week is that ministry leaders must stay close to the mission. We must remain active in loving people around us and pointing them to Christ.
At the end of the day, every disciple of Jesus is a missionary, sent by God in the power of the Spirit to be a witness for Christ. You might not think of yourself as a missionary, reserving that title for “super-Christians” who cross the oceans to reach the nations. But don’t miss the call of God on your life in the here and now. He is bringing the nations to you. My neighborhood is full of amazing people from all over the world. God loves each one of them and has sent my family to make sure they know the good news of Jesus.
What would it look like for you to think about your neighborhood, school, workplace, local gym, online community, and child’s sports team as your mission field? Don’t separate your Sunday faith from your Monday relationships. Jesus called you out of the world so that He could send you back into the world as His representative. If you were the only Christian on your street, your soccer team, or your floor at work, could we be confident that every other person would hear the gospel?
Yesterday, I went to the going-away party for my good friend, Karl Nichols, at his former company, E3 Alliance. Karl spent the last ten years raising funds for E3 to catalyze systemic change in public education. Karl loves the Lord and sees himself as a missionary for Christ wherever he goes. After many of his coworkers honored Karl’s integrity, hard work, excellence, and friendship, Karl spoke to the room of thirty people and shared his heart.
With his normal joy, passion, and zeal, Karl said, “You must have purpose in this life, something that gets you out of bed each morning and keeps you moving each day. Something that grounds your identity and guides your path. For me, that is Jesus. He leads me, speaks to me, and tells me who I am.” In that moment, I saw a powerful example of someone who lives as a missionary for Christ wherever he goes.
Whether we are standing in front yards, board rooms, grocery store aisles, local parks, or baseball fields, we are not there by accident. We have been sent by God on a mission. Every person we meet is just like us: made in God’s image, broken by sin, and loved by their Creator. Jesus died and rose from the dead to rescue and redeem every person we meet. There is no greater adventure in life than to partner with Almighty God in leading people to salvation.
I know the temptation to retreat from the world all too well. You are tired after a long day of work, exhausted from parenting, and only want to veg out in front of the TV to binge a new Netflix show. Withdrawal from others is common today. We have endless options to entertain us and keep us from connecting. But those of us who belong to Jesus have a high and joyful calling to go beyond our normal routines and love the people God puts in our path.
Here’s what I’m trying to say: this week reminded me not just about the urgency of our mission, but about the JOY of our adventure. We love people, meet needs, pray faithfully, and share boldly, not just because people need Jesus, but also because we need the joy and hope that comes from living on mission.
Step out, friends. Be bold. And remember: Jesus is already there.
Your co-laborer in the field,
-Keith