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Monday, October 05, 2009

The Urgency of the Great Commission (Messiah College Missions Week)



First day of "Step Out! Stand Out!"—our college's Missions Week. We started with prayer for the Christians around the world, missionaries, church elders; prayer for unreached people groups, countries which have never yet heard of the Gospel; nations, governments, authorities, etc.

Our president, then, called to our attention the importance of the Great Commission:

"Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Matthew 28:18-20


As Christians, we are missionaries to the people we meet everyday. They may be our neighbors, our classmates, relatives, friends, acquaintances...and they all need to hear the Gospel. It doesn't matter where you are; you are called to be a missionary. As the song The Mission says: "...across the street or around the world, the mission's still the same: proclaim and live the truth in Jesus' Name."


In the afternoon, we watched Beyond the Gates of Splendor. Most of us have heard about them—Jim Elliot and his companions (Nate Saint, Pete Fleming, Roger Youderian, and Ed McCully)—but this movie provided fresh insight to the story and a deeper meaning of the Great Commission. Through the stories and the testimonies of the wives, we were able to hear how these young men found their passion in the field of missions and shared their dream of reaching the Auca tribe.



We had the opportunity to hear from students as well. These are our graduating batch. They went to Cambodia during the summer for a short-term cross-cultural mission trip. They shared their experiences (eating delicacies such as spiders and crickets, visiting cultural museums, going to a park where the walkway is paved with silver, meeting missionaries who work and give so much and have no one to really help them, yet continuing in the work for the glory of God) and what the trip made them realize.



We also heard from the head of the youth missions department of a church. He shared to us how God called him, as well as the challenges he and his team have experienced. He also shared about God's goodness and faithfulness even in the most difficult situations.


"I have but one passion - it is He, it is He alone. The world is the field and the field is the world; and henceforth that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ."
Count Zinzindorf


SOLI DEO GLORIA!

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