Of All Nations
To say that missions take place as we go is not to downplay the importance of foreign missions, or going somewhere new for the sole purpose of discipling others in the faith. In fact, having a greater view of home missions and of discipleship enhance our view of missions abroad. If our purpose everyday, in working for our Lord, is already to make disciples, how much more will that be our goal when organizing or taking part in missions, as it is popularly viewed today?
Foreign missions are actually a large part of making disciples. Jesus Christ did command, “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations.”5 So, missions, wherefore our goal is to produce disciples, begin at home and then are carried outward from there: first to our own nation and then to others.
Making disciples in other nations
This type of mission work creates for us a unique challenge. How is it that we can make disciples in a nation we are only visiting? Consider the fact that making disciples requires a great amount of time and a close relationship. Is it possible to do the work of discipleship, as Jesus commands, on a foreign mission field, or even with people in our own cities that we may not see but once?
And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff-no bread, no bag, no money in their belts-but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
Mark 6:7-13 ESV
Here we see Jesus actually sending His disciples out to do what we would call mission work. They went out two by two so that they could meet people who would otherwise not hear the Gospel and tell them that they needed to repent to God. They were charged to take nothing with them, other than their sandals, the cloak on their back and a staff. They were given authority to drive out demons and to heal sick people, not so they were noticed but so that they could benefit others and provide for them. So they went, sharing the Gospel and challenging people to repent.
Jesus’ disciples had contact with these people for a short period of time, and as a result, were not able to see the life change that might take place in a long-term discipling relationship. Nonetheless, Christ thought it important that these connections be made. How is it that these connections can play into discipleship, since discipleship is our main goal?
Consider this scenario, as this is how Jesus’ disciples might have worked. If we are going from door to door sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, either locally or abroad, and someone opens the door, how is it that we might start a conversation? Should we begin with, “You need to repent, or you are going to Hell?” or, “Hi. My name is Andrew and I am from South Lindsay Baptist Church. If you died today, do you know if you would go to Heaven?” I am convinced, that if an approach like this is taken, we would have many more doors than usual closed in our faces. We might also be accused of being a Mormon or a Jehovah’s Witness. One thing is almost certain. People will not listen to what we have to say unless we are relevant to their life circumstances. We see a great example as Paul speaks to the great philosophers in Athens.
“Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything…”6
So we see that it is necessary, even though we are only there for a few moments, to know, generally, the people with whom we are sharing the Gospel. This means that conversation generally needs to start with the people we are trying to reach. For instance, when introducing myself to someone else, I might do so in this manner:
“Knock, Knock,” someone answers the door and I hold out my hand to request a handshake.
“Hi. My name is Andrew. I’m with South Lindsay Baptist Church. We are taking a survey and I was wondering if you had time to answer a few questions.”
We make our agenda known up front, so that people don’t get the impression that we are trying to “pull the wool” over their eyes. By asking questions, we also eliminate the feeling people tend to have that they are being attacked, or pushed into a religious decision. Sometimes people may not want to give up their time to answer a few questions. In such a case, we can hand them some information and a free Bible while thanking them for their time. We do not want to be pushy and so push them further away from the Church of Jesus Christ. What if they agree to answer a few questions? What might we ask? Here is an example conversation we might have with someone who agrees to answer some questions.7 Keep in mind the teaching aspect of discipleship as you read.
“Yeah. I guess I could answer a few questions.”
“Great! All right. First question. Do you, personally, think that religion is important within society?”
“Hmm. Yes.”
“How so?”
“Well, religious people wont break into my house and steal my stuff. They seem to have a greater moral standard, I guess.”
Obviously, the person or people asking the questions need to develop a somewhat creative mind. That way, they can develop new questions based on the way others answer. This helps us to teach the Gospel while asking questions, making this discipleship instead of strict evangelism.
“Why, according to your own observation, might religious people have a greater moral standard?”
“Well, because they believe in that stuff, I guess…”
At this point, we could continue to “beat the bush” about religion and morality, but we must keep in mind that we do not want to push someone away who might be interested in a relationship with Christ. We must know when to move on to the next question.
“Alright, next question. Do you consider yourself to be a religious person?”
“Well, no. Not really. It seems kind of pointless. And weird.”
“Except that it produces a greater morality standard, right?”
We also must not shy away from interacting with their answers. This, ultimately, will get people to think about their own views. Jesus used the same approach when speaking with Nicodemus in John, chapter three. We must be careful, though, not to be belligerent with the issue. Mention it, and then move on to the next question.
“Uh. I guess so…”
“Next question. Do you think that there is a God?”
“Of course I believe that there is a God… This world had to come from somewhere, didn’t it?”
One fact that we may not realize is that most people in the world do believe in some sort of deity. In fact, according to an article from Cambridge University, only six percent of the population in America is atheist8, and the percentage of Atheist in the entire world is not much higher. If someone does already believe that there is a God, then our priority becomes creation, fall and redemption.
“If the world came from God, why do you believe God created it, specifically humanity?”
“Uh. You know, I never really thought about that. Maybe He was just bored being all alone.”
When conversation reaches this point, I am tempted to begin discussing the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and how God, being a community within Himself would not get bored at any time. Of course, with someone who either does not have a relationship with Jesus Christ or may have one but is more immature in the faith, discussing the doctrine of the Trinity may be confusing to them. Even the most mature believers cannot understand fully the notion that God exists in three persons. Simple interactions work to the greatest benefit of the people we are trying to reach.
“If that were the case, don’t you think God would have created us in Heaven, with Him?”
“Wait. Wasn’t God on Earth when He created man?”
We also must not devalue the perception of the individual we are trying to reach. If they are right about something, then they are right about something. Like I said before, we do not want to get into a complicated discussion about the person of the Holy Trinity and how it was the Spirit of God doing all of this work on the earth. The fact that the person we may be trying to reach refers to the Biblical account of creation also means that they have heard the story before. We must tune into that fact. Now that they have asked a question, we are free to tell at least the creation part of the story without imposing or prying.
“You are right. God was on the earth when He created mankind. In fact, according to the first chapter in Genesis, God created mankind in His image. God, by definition and if He exists, would be perfect because He sets the standard for morality and truth. Obviously we live in a world that is not perfect. If God created mankind in His image, why do you personally believe that the world, including humanity, has so much evil in it?”
A question like this one is likely to overwhelm the person we are trying to reach. After all, the world’s greatest scholars have debated and thought about this issue for centuries with no clear conclusion. We should not expect the person we are talking with to be able to answer this question, but we should be prepared to give an answer to them. Hopefully, asking this question gives us an opportunity to recount the fall of man, all the while teaching another individual some of the aspects within the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is at the foundation of discipleship.
“I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”
“Well, in Genesis chapter three, we can read that mankind broke the only command that God gave to them. By breaking this command, mankind chose to live apart from God, thus evil was introduced into the world of men. Not only that, but mankind could no longer be the image of God that he was created to be. This means that we cannot find the satisfaction in God that we were created to have, and that we are forced to create our own purpose in life, because we have to create our own image.”
By this time, we will either have our listener’s full attention or not. If we do, they may ask the next question because they are curious. If we do not, we should continue on to our next question, but we should most certainly allow a few seconds of silence to give them a chance to ask.
“Why would God allow something like that to happen, young man?”
“That’s just it, sir! He didn’t just allow it to happen. He had a plan to restore us to Himself. Two thousand years ago, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay a debt that we owed to God for that rebellion. He died in our place, conquering sin and death, so that we could once again be the image of God that we were created to be. It is a free gift from God to us. John 3:16 says that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that whosoever believes in Him will have eternal life. Verse seventeen ensures us that Christ did not come into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world would be saved through Him. Jesus Himself tells us that we only need to believe in Him and this eternal life, us being restored to God, is ours! There is nothing we can possibly do to disqualify ourselves from receiving that gift. Is that a gift that you would like to receive?”
Whether the person accepts God’s gift or not, at this point, is their decision to make. In our encounter, we were able to achieve so much more than just an evangelistic stride. We were actually able to teach someone, interactively, the core beliefs within the Christian worldview. That is discipleship on a temporary mission field. That is what we are called to do. We must also encourage them to get involved in a local church and to pursue the individual relationship with Christ that they chose to start. It would be good to give them a Bible and a starters devotional guide.
Though it seems as if Jesus’ disciples were working from door to door, we can use their experience to our advantage in any evangelism encounter. We must keep in mind the discipleship aspect of evangelism: actually teaching people about our God and not just “getting them to Heaven”. This will cultivate a greater growth later in the person whom we are trying to reach.
We must also keep in mind that there is no “formula” for a successful evangelism encounter. Every situation and circumstance is different and therefore makes every encounter different. We can plan all we want to, but the truth of the matter is that we do not always know what is coming. Without knowing what is coming, it is difficult, if not impossible to prepare. As we go, we must rely on God’s Holy Spirit to lead us and to speak through us while being as prepared as we can be. The more prepared we are, the more we know, the more we have experienced, the more we have read and the more mature we have become; the greater opportunity we will have to serve God and the greater impact we will have for God.
Sharing genuine excitement
I believe that, too many times, in our working for Jesus Christ, we do so out of obligation rather than out of love. Yes, we are commanded to make disciples, and yes, it is a sacrifice. At the same time, if we share the heart of our Lord, Jesus Christ, we are willing and excited to make the sacrifice necessary to do God’s work. Too many times we hang our heads and treat discipleship as a burden to the lives we want to live. There is no general excitement, but what we must realize is that we have an amazing opportunity before us: that is the opportunity to transform lives; or rather, to allow God to use us to transform lives.
After Jesus’ disciples returned, there was a sense of excitement, and I believe that if we begin to see God really work through our commitment to make disciples, we will gain a fire that cannot be quenched. We will be excited because God’s work through us will be evident!
The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.
Mark 6:30-33 ESV
The fact is simple. When we go, with the sole purpose of representing God and doing His work, particularly in the area of missions, the people we are able to reach will seek out a deeper level of discipleship. In this case, they recognized the disciples, and followed them to their leader physically. In our case, people will be touched in such a way that they will follow us to our leader, or will seek out people like us who have the same leader: Jesus Christ. See, the initial act of discipleship during our evangelistic encounters actually creates a yearning in others for deeper learning. In gaining a deeper understanding of who God is, people will naturally come to know who God is more and more. Then, the people we are trying to reach will actually have a reason to give their lives to Jesus Christ, or to accept God’s free gift to humanity. Too often do we attack people with a minimal Gospel message and expect them to respond in a positive way. We push them into a corner and, if they even surrender to us, they accept the Gospel and the message of Christ just so that we will go away. Discipleship should not only be greatly emphasized within the walls of the universal Church, but also on the mission field. It is the only way in which we will advance the Kingdom of God as God commanded for it to be advanced.
So, the first idea we must remember and emphasize is the idea that making disciples takes place as we go throughout our lives: everywhere we go at anytime with anyone we come in contact with. The second: we are to make it a priority not only to reach people in our nation, or connected to us, but in other nations, or those we would not normally meet. The third, then, according to the great commission, would be that we need to baptize those whom we disciple in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.