If You Don’t Go to Uganda, Do This Instead . . .

Have you noticed that here at Grace Rancho we are always working to give our members a heart for missions? Corporate prayers, growth groups, sermons, and even all our membership classes have all been vehicles to get our people to love missions.

So consider the title of this article. I apologize that it sounds like click-bait. But I want to address the believers who will not end up going to Uganda, Sudan, Indonesia, or any other missionary frontier (which will be most of you). And I want to say this: Even if you never go anywhere to do missions work, you should become a global Christian.

What is a global Christian? A global Christian is simply an ordinary Christian with a biblical understanding of and commitment to the global mission of the church. It is a Christian who is passionate about seeing God’s name glorified among the nations. It is a believer who says, “Christ is worthy not merely of my church’s praise, but Christ is worthy of the praise of all peoples everywhere.”

Are you a global Christian? I’ll give you three categories to encourage you to become a global Christian: God’s Word, God’s World, God’s Work.

God’s Word

God desires to be known among the nations. In Genesis 12:1-3 we learn that God’s plan of redemption includes all families of the earth. In Isaiah 49:6 we learn that it’s too small a thing for Jesus to merely be the savior of Israel, he is so great, he will be a “light for the nations.” In Matthew 28:19 the church is given a mandate to make disciples of all nations. And at the end of the story, Revelations 7:9 reveals a picture of all nations, tribes, and tongues worshiping their savior, Jesus. In other words, Scripture reveals the heart of God is for the nations.

God’s World

If you’re not familiar with the concept, let me introduce you to the idea of an “unreached people group.” In missions terminology, a “people group” is a group of people with a shared ethnolinguistic identity. An “unreached people group” is when one of these groups has little to no access to the gospel.

Missiologists say there are 17,269 people groups on planet earth, which make up the 8 billion human souls alive today. Of those groups, it is estimated that 7,188 are unreached. Let that sink in. That means roughly 3.42 billion people live in people groups that have little to no gospel presence. These people must be reached. This is the state of God’s world today.

God’s Work

The words of Jesus are still ringing in our ears: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” This is the mission of the church. Our master tells us these unreached people must be reached, and all of us must be engaged in the work. As John Piper has put it, there are only three possible responses to the Great Commission: “Go, send, or disobey.”

Let’s eliminate “disobey” as a viable option for the Christian. We all must either go or send. But since the vast majority of Christians will be senders (and this is right and biblical), we need to consider how to be involved in reaching the nations while staying put.

My encouragement: become a global Christian. How? Start with yourself. Using Scripture, gain a biblical worldview of the nations. Read Let the Nation Be Glad by John Piper. Then try other things: Have you ever checked out Operation World or The Joshua Project’s website? Have you ever sent an email to our missionaries to check in and encourage them? How often do you pray for the nations of the world? Have you ever considered visiting one of our missionaries? Become a global Christian. Take responsibility to help mobilize the church toward faithful missions work among the nations.