Mission is for everyone!

Jesus didn’t ask us simply to learn about him, but asked us to pass on what we learn, encourages Jack Skett, Elim Missions Communication and Content Creator

Jack Skett

Have you ever thought to yourself, ‘I could never be a missionary’? I have definitely had that thought before. I’ve looked at people who from a distance seem to be close to Jesus in a way that is utterly unobtainable for someone like me. I’ve heard stories of people sharing the gospel and starting ministries which made me immediately assume God could never use me in that way.

Over the years that attitude has shifted in me as I’ve followed Jesus and discovered more and more how he is wanting to use me, even though I may be lacking in so many areas.

If you were to speak to our missionaries or Global Partners about these things, they’re all likely to tell you the same thing: that what they are seeing God do is exactly that – God doing things. Each of us has the privilege of partnering with God in what he is doing in the world. He doesn’t have a minimum ability level for involvement in his mission. He doesn’t require us to have special knowledge or understanding.

When Jesus sent out the Twelve, I imagine that they felt the same sense of inadequacy as we often do. Based on when in the Gospels this takes place (Mark 6, Luke 9, Matthew 10), we can assume that it was fairly early on in Jesus’ ministry. Were the Twelve ready for such a big task? Had they had sufficient training? Did they understand everything that Jesus was teaching? My guess is that even if the answers to those questions are all ‘yes’, the Twelve may not have felt it!

Still, they went. They travelled in pairs, preaching about the Kingdom of God, healing the sick and casting out demons. Then they came back and told Jesus all about what they had seen and done.

Discipleship under Jesus meant learning on the job. Part of the growth process of Jesus’ disciples was going and doing mission. In fact, Jesus discipled them for mission. He didn’t want them just to learn about the things he was teaching, he wanted them to learn to be like him so that they could teach others to be like him.

And the same is true of us. Jesus is calling each of us to follow him, not just to learn about him but to get to know him – not just for our own benefit but so that we can pass on what we have learned to others.

Mission is a core part of that learning. What does it look like for you to get involved with mission? Maybe it’s as simple as making a connection in your local community, looking for a person of peace (Luke 10:5-7) and sharing with them what you have seen, heard and experienced of Jesus. You might not feel able to preach a gospel message, but you can probably pass on to someone something of what you have learnt about who Jesus is.

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.

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