Why I Do Missions

Mission Estonia 09

In exactly 14 days I will be leaving for my second mission trip to Tallinn, Estonia. I am pumped about the trip this year and truly sensing that the Lord has big things in store. I will probably be doing a lot of posts about the trip before, during and after. I thought I would begin with a few thoughts about why I do missions?

1. Obedience – I believe the Bible. I believe Jesus when He said, "And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.”" (Matthew 28:18-20, ESV)

2. Need – There is a genuine need for the spread of the gospel. Of course, this doesn’t have to necessarily be in some distant land. Sharing the gospel should begin with where I am and then move out from there. I don’t want a foreign mission trip to be an excuse for me not to share Christ where I am. But I should also be willing to leave my comfortable surrounding and take the gospel to “all nations”. He (Jesus) said it, I am going to do it. Estonia needs the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a free and open society. There is not a huge Christian influence there. God is working there. All of those ingredients create the need to go.

3. Personal Benefit. This may surprise some of you. I do have a somewhat selfish reason for going on missions. It benefits me personally. There are few things that stretch my faith like being somewhere that makes me realize my utter dependence on God. I should have that same sense anywhere that I am, but it is always brought home to my heart when I go on mission.
I will be put in situations that make me uncomfortable. I will be asked to do things that are not in my personality and are not my “gifts”. So what will I do? Pray and trust in God. That is good for my soul.

4. Pastoral Responsibility. I am called to pastor the flock of God. That means that I am to lead the church to grow in our faith. If the shepherd is not being obedient to the great commission, then that is what the sheep will follow? I don’t want that on my conscience. I want my flock to grow in their faith, to become bold in sharing Christ, to be active in missions. But, I am not going to ask them to do something that I am not willing to do myself. That would not be functioning as a leader. I know that I am not a perfect example but I hope by the grace of God that I am a growing one.

So, this trip to Tallinn, Estonia is not just some sightseeing excursion. I would not be going if I did not sense that it was something the Lord was directing me to do. I know that it will be hard. I will not get much sleep, it will be taxing and costly. There will be spiritual battles. I will be away from my family. I am not going to be sitting on a beach sipping iced tea. But the difficulty is the very thing that will require me to press in closer to the Lord. For that, I am excited. I pray that I will begin pressing closer into Him now, and then when I return I will continue to press closer in to my Heavenly Father. Pray for me.