A common mistake believers can make is waiting to be sent ‘on mission’. As a teenager I knew we were called to be Christians all the time but to actually go on mission was different, or so I thought.
I spent many an afternoon ‘on mission’ in Leeds as we did community clean up days in the rougher parts of the city. I knew that when I was helping lead the Holiday Bible Clubs at church we were ‘on mission’ to all the children coming along. I met my now husband on ‘short-term mission’ in Israel/Palestine in 2008 (not a reason to go on short term mission but a very happy coincidence!!). I even thought one day I may be sent out ‘on mission’ somewhere more long-term. I didn’t think about every day life being a mission field until I was at uni and living in a flat of 6 non-believers and 1 nominal believer. Every single day I had to live as a witness, and if I fell short I knew about it!!
Recently Matt and I did some training for some mission partners with the British Methodist Church. These people were about to be sent out into different cultures and to different countries where they had a specific calling to specific work for the glory of God. We met with them and did the exact same material we would do with a church or group of individuals who were not about to be sent out ‘on mission’. Why didn’t we write tailored material to suit them and help them as they went ‘on mission’? The answer is very simple…their calling to mission is exactly the same as yours!! Are you aware of being sent into daily life by Jesus? Do you wake up each morning and ask the Holy Spirit to guide your steps and help you through your day? Do you recognise your work colleagues/school friends/children/family as your mission field or your ‘front line’?
We spent a wonderful two sessions with these mission partners talking about what Jesus did when he was on mission on the earth. We reflected on how we can sometimes make things far more complicated than we need to. We talked about their mission fields in the months to come and how actually what Jesus did was extremely cross cultural and applicable to everybody in every day life. The mission partners went away with ideas and resources to guide them as they help those they will be working with to abide more deeply with God and live more missionally in the world.
All of those resources and ideas are available to you too!! Have a look at the Inspire bookstore for resources to help guide you as you explore, or why not have a look at the courses coming up soon with the Inspire School of Discipleship for an opportunity to learn alongside others all over the world?
Rachel, Inspire Missioner GB, July 2022
