Grow & Go - February 2025
Mobilized For Missions
What does it mean to be mobilized for missions? John R.W. Stott helpfully stated, “We must be global Christians with a global vision because our God is a global God.” It has also been said, by a missions sending organization, that “if each sound, Bible-believing, evangelical church in the U.S. alone sent just one new missionary, every one of the more than 3,000 unreached and unengaged people groups in the world could gain access to the gospel.” We must be a church that mobilizes, dedicated to discipling, raising, and sending out our best to engage the multitude with the gospel, reaching those who might otherwise never hear it.
The first place to start being mobilized for missions is within our own hearts, and the catalyst is denying ourselves. In the first of four gospels “Jesus told his disciples, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matt 16:24). To effectively deny ourselves and mobilize others for mission work, we must each invest time in discipling others, prioritizing service over self-interest. The greatest example of being mobilized from God’s word is the relationship between Paul and his beloved Timothy. Paul sent Timothy out on many various endeavors for the good of the Church and to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ. One such example of this is where Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “I sent you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my teachings about Christ Jesus. I teach these principles everywhere and in every church” (1 Cor. 4:17). And we are to do replicate this same model of sending – denying ourselves and mobilizing others for the sake of the
gospel, just as the apostle Paul has modeled for us in his word.
In my own ministry, I have recognized how hard it is to mentor, invest in, and disciple others, only at some point in time to see these same men and women be sent out elsewhere to advance the kingdom of God. We come to love these people in our church family that God moves for His own glory. We witness God move in the lives of those we are discipling, and in some cases, maybe even led to Christ and it is tough to see them leave us. However, when they leave, we must recognize it is God’s sovereign plan that is mobilizing them elsewhere, and it is our responsibility to give them support. Abraham Kuyper reminds us where he said that “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine”! Just as we ourselves belong to Christ, those He mobilizes, sends, and moves away from us – they belong to Him too. This is hard for us, because in some cases, we may not see these people again this side of glory. But praise be to God there is a crown that awaits for us (2 Tim 4:8) that will surpass all of our sorrow for those whom we miss in this temporary life.
Sometimes, it can be difficult for us to understand that “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways” (Isaiah 55:8-9). In His sovereignty, God often calls individuals to take on extraordinary things that we may not fully understand this side of Heaven. We should passionately encourage others to share the gospel wherever the Lord leads them, support them, and pray for them. The question and challenge we face now are these: Who are you mentoring and discipling to send out for the glory of God and to make Jesus known, either here or to the nations? How are you investing in others to mobilize them for missions? My prayer is that each of us seriously considers these two questions and commits ourselves to pursuits with eternal value.