The End of a Ministry

Some of you may have never heard of ACMC (Advancing Church Missions Commitment) and Caleb Project. But I have. ACMC in particular had some great materials and offered some outstanding conferences. I particularly enjoyed the conference I went to a few years ago. I returned to New Covenant full of fresh ideas and energy. I have had the opportunity to implement many of the things I learned.

A few months ago the two agencies merged and became known as Initiative 360 -- Take it Gloal. The hope was that together they would offer even more to the local church. Unfortunately, things didn't work out. As I write this, Initiative 360 is no more.

I am confident God has something new in store to help those of us who promote the idea of kingdom partnerships in local churches. There is hope that another agency will pick up some of what they have been doing. (Go to this link to read their press release: http://www.takeitglobal.org/) Whether that happens or not, I am grateful for the way ACMC helped me over the last 13 years of ministry.

A Goal, Not Just a Process

When Jesus gave us His mandate in Matthew 28:18-20 (commonly referred to as “The Great Commission”), He left us with a very specific task. This task was not just given to the “missions program” of the church or to a few who feel called to be a “missionary.” This task was given to all of us. Here is how one author has explained the mandate that Jesus gave to all of us who are followers of Jesus Christ:

“Disciple all the peoples.”

Jesus spoke as if they could see every single nation from the hill on which he stood. To disciple each one of the nations meant that there would be a once-for-all change among every one of the tribes, languages, and peoples.

In the syntax of His sentence, the Greek word translated “make disciples” required an object for the discipling action. The scope of that object (in this case “all the peoples”) would define the extent of the discipling action. The mandate should never be abbreviated as merely “make disciples,” as if Jesus simply wanted the process of disciple-making to happen. The expression must stand as a whole: “disciple all the peoples.” Jesus was setting out a super-goal. A discipling movement was in the destiny of every people on earth. He was given them the task of starting the movements.

Jesus did not emphasize the process of communicating the gospel. In fact, He said nothing about the gospel itself. They were not mandated merely to expose people to the gospel. They were commissioned to bring about a result, a response, a global following of Jesus from every people. It was a task to be accomplished. And it would be completed. No doubts crossed their minds about that. Jesus always finished everything He set out to do.

(Excerpt from Steven Hawthorne, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader, Third Edition, page 110.)

(Map image from www.mapability.com)

An Upside-Down World

You may have noticed over the last few months a growing emphasis here on the least-reached people groups of the world. That emphasis is deliberate. Jesus’ mandate was very clear: We are to make disciples of all people groups.

It is important, though, to also see the bigger context of what is happening around the world. Christianity Today recently had an article entitled “An Upside-Down World.” Here is how it begins:

The map of global Christianity that our grandparents knew has been turned upside down. At the start of the 20^th century, only ten percent of the world’s Christians lived in the continents of the south and east. Ninety percent lived in North America and Europe, along with Australia and New Zealand. But at the start of the 21^st century, at least 70 percent of the world’s Christians lived in the non-Western world—more appropriately called the majority world.

This fact has a crucial implication: Missions is becoming multidirectional—again! This was true in the book of Acts, and is true today. We are not alone in sending out missionaries. India is now the second largest contributor of Protestant cross-cultural missionaries. (The United States is the largest). There are now more Korean missionaries than British.

With this shift, our role needs to change. We must not see ourselves in terms of “senders” and other countries as the “receivers.” That is why I like the term “kingdom partners”—because that is what we are! Whether it is in the Czech Republic or Uganda, Asia or Nebraska, we have the privilege to come alongside churches and individuals and partner with them in making disciples of all who have not heard the Gospel message.

God is at work in and through churches around the world. The need for us to partner with them is not less—it is greater than ever! So prayerfully consider what role you can play as a Kingdom Partner today.

(You can read the Christianity Today article by going to www.christianitytoday.com/40514.)

(Globe image from www.mapability.com)

Prayer Resources

If you are a Kingdom Partner, then you know that prayer is one of the most important ways that you can be actively involved in global disciple making. One of the best resources out there for praying for people all over this planet is Operation World. They have information on both countries and people groups. Go to their website for a daily prayer guide.

Another resource is 24-7 Prayer. This website uses the information from Operation World to give you a quick list of facts about various countries and prayer needs.

I encourage you to explore both websites. The links will be permanently listed on the left under the "Perspectives Links."