Tag: Missions

How to Meet the Unchurched

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Evangelism, Pastoral, Practical3 Comments

In order for us to reach the unchurched in our cities, we have to get to know them. Often times this can be difficult for Christians. Between all of our church activities, our kids sports, and fellowship with other Christians, it can seem difficult to make the time to befriend those who are not running in our same circles. However, if our desire is to reach our community for Christ, and it should be, we have to find ways to interact with those who are non-Christians. With that in mind, I want to offer you a few suggestions that might help you to interact with those outside of your church circles.

Ways to Interact

Encourage Your Kids to Play on a City Sports League

Kids typically play sports, and as their parent, you are the one who takes them to practice and watches their games. Since you are already involved in this activity, why not enroll your child in the city league instead of placing them on a church team? By doing so, you will have the opportunity to get to know the other parents, who may or may not be Christians.

Sign Yourself Up for a City Sponsored Sports League

We all need exercise, and most of us enjoy playing some sort of sport, so why not play it with your neighbors? City sports leagues are a great way to interact with those living in the community. The common bond helps to build relationships with those you would not ordinarily come in contact with, allowing you the opportunity to speak the gospel into their lives.

There are many different leagues to play in: Soft Ball, Kick Ball, Basketball, Soccer, Rugby (if you are a real man), etc.

Join a Local Club

If you do not have a hobby, you need to get one. It is a great way to relieve stress and keep you sane. If you have a hobby, why not consider doing it with others in your community? There are many different clubs you can join: Book Clubs, Chess Clubs, Cycling Clubs, Running Clubs, Photography Clubs, etc.

Get Out of Your House

Another way to meet those in your neighborhood is by getting out of the house. Do yard work when your other neighbors are out. Walk around the block. Office outside of the house. I spend a lot of time at Starbucks, which has allowed me to get to know the employees and frequent customers, and it has led to many opportunities to either speak into their lives, or share the gospel with them.

Attend Events

If a buddy from work invites you to come over and watch the game, take the opportunity. He may not come to church with you, but hanging with him at his house is a great opportunity to start building into him, getting to know him, and hopefully having the opportunity to share the gospel with him. In addition, people typically invite more than one person over to watch a game, so it can be a great opportunity to meet their friends.

Invite Co-Workers or Neighbors Over For Dinner

Sharing a meal with someone is a great way to get to know them. It is non-threatening, and provides a lot of time for conversation. You may not be able to get your neighbor to attend church with you, but I bet they will come over for a free dinner.

Conclusion

Those are a few suggestions as to ways we can meet non-believers, get to know them, and speak the gospel into their lives. Yes, it takes a little effort, and may even force us out of our comfort zone, but it is worth it. I also hope you have seen that you can accomplish this feat without changing your current schedule too much.

Image: Now and Zen Photography / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Interestingness

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn InterestingnessLeave a comment

Here are some articles and videos from around the web that I found interesting this week. Check them out, and let me know your thoughts.

A Meal With Jesus

Tim Chester’s book is reviewed by Shelley Bingham over at The Gospel Coalition. Here is a little of what the book is about:

Chester’s main burdens in this book are: to explain the startling significance of Christ’s desire to eat with sinners and Pharisees alike; to reveal the deeper spiritual realities that these shared meals with Christ point to; and to encourage us as Christians to make sharing meals an integral part of our fellowship with others, so as to regularly enact and reflect upon the grace that Christ so freely gave to us.

You can read the full review by clicking here.

Make God’s Word Your Thing

Make God’s Word Your ‘Thing’ from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo.

What Do the Religions Teach About God?

The Resurgence put out  a great article about different religions and their teachings on God. Check it out here.

The Culture of Death

In a recent article, Al Mohler highlights how some cities are cracking down on and attacking the work of Crisis Pregnancy Centers. You can read it here.

Business Practices and the Church

9Marks did an excellent interview with John Hardin about his dissertation regarding the history of business practices in the church. This is a great discussion that will help you to see the necessity to think through different methodologies you may be considering introducing to your church. You can listen by clicking here.

Count the Cost

Who Among Us are Missionaries and Where Does Their Mission Take Place?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Evangelism, Pastoral, Practical2 Comments

Wednesday I put out a post seeking to define our mission as Christians. You can read it by clicking here. In it I determined that our mission is God’s mission, and I gave this succinct definition of God’s mission and how I believe we fit into His mission:

God is on mission to redeem all of creation, we are apart of that mission as His elect peoples, and our purpose in that mission is to present the gospel through our actions and words, by which God will redeem all of creation in Christ for His glory.

Today, I want to discuss where our mission takes place and determine who is involved in this mission by asking and answering these questions:

Is our mission strictly relegated to overseas, or does it happen in our backyard? Is mission relegated to a special group of people sent out by a church, or is it taken up by everyone in the church?

Both Overseas and Our Backyard

I believe our mission takes place both overseas and in our backyard by all those in the church. Granted a special group of people will travel overseas, but everyone should participate in mission in their city.

Throughout the New Testament we have examples of mission happening overseas by a select group of people and in our backyard by everyone.

Jesus commissions his apostles to go to all the nations with the gospel message, but first He commissions them to go to their city (Matt. 28:16-20).

In Acts, the apostles are seen going to all the nations to proclaim the gospel to unreached people groups.

During Paul’s mission, he visits a number of places some of which are: Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth, and Ephesus (Acts 16,17,18,19). In these areas, churches are established. Even though Paul continues to keep in touch with them, the church itself becomes responsible for evangelizing the area. This is evidenced by the apostle constantly calling these churches to holy living, so their conduct among their neighbors would be honorable, allowing them to proclaim the gospel unhindered (Matt. 5:16; Phil. 2:14-15; 1 Peter 2:12).

We see a prime example of a church who is living correctly and proclaiming the gospel to their neighbors in 1 Thessalonians. The church at Thessalonica was known in their region of Macedonia and Achaia because of their witness and example (1 Thessalonians 1). In fact, the Word of God had gone forth so faithfully from them in that region that Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy did not feel they needed to say anything.

How to Proclaim the Gospel in Your Backyard

If all the church is to proclaim the gospel in their own backyard, then we need to know how this works out. Does it work out by simply going door to door, or can it happen in other ways? In an effort to be succinct, but still answer the question, we will look at the church at Ephesus.

In Ephesians, we learn Paul expected their speech, sexual conduct, interaction with their neighbors, family life, and master slave interactions to be radically different than the culture in which they lived (Eph. 4-6). The purpose was so that they would shine as lights in a dark place and be witnesses to those around them.

From the example of the Ephesians, we learn how we can interact with those around us.

We are to live lives that are radically different than those who live next door. As we live lives that are different than those surrounding us, we put forth a model of what a redeemed community looks like and we hopefully earn the right to proclaim the gospel. Or when we proclaim the gospel to our neighbors, they are able to see how it has changed our lives, and hopefully they too will desire the same change.

Following the example of the Ephesians also means our everyday life is apart of our mission. As we go to work, play with our kids, date our wives, attend a movie, and interact with our neighbors, we are on mission. If we are on mission in our everyday lives, then we cannot fragment our lives into missional segments like so many in the church do.

Redefinition of Missionary

In order to be on mission all the time, we have to radically alter our current definition of a missionary. No longer can missionaries be thought of as a select group of people who go out to an area to proclaim the gospel and return home at a given time.

Rather, being on mission, and being a missionary, happens in every aspect of our lives, and is accomplished by everyone in the church.

Pastors, deacons, staff members, businessmen, lawyers, doctors, small business owners, blue collar workers, teachers, grandparents, stay at home moms, kids, etc are all on mission together. Meaning no one in our church is not on mission all the time, and there is no one in our church who are not missionaries.

Summary

From our limited examples, we can see that mission is not only reserved for a select group of people who go into other countries to proclaim the gospel, but it is reserved for the entire church, and it plays out in their own backyard.

If being on mission is to be taken up by everyone everywhere they live, work, and play, then we must redefine what we mean by the term missionary. Everyone in our church is a missionary, and their mission field is where they live, work, and play. Every aspect of their lives has to be included in their mission. The stores they visit, the places they live, the people they choose to hang out with, the restaurants they frequent, the places they take their kids to play, and the sports teams they play on are all apart of a strategic plan designed to meet and engage non-believers with the gospel.

Helpful Articles

The Geography of the Gospel

Chandler, Horton, and Keller on the Church in Mission

Image: Damian Brandon / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Thinking Out Loud: What is God’s Mission and How Do We Fit Into It?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Evangelism, Practical1 Comment

What does it mean to be on mission? Whose mission is it? How do we fit into that mission? Does being on mission solely involve personal evangelism? Are there other things besides making disciples that are involved in being on mission?

I am seeking to find and provide answers to the above questions. I would love your feedback and interaction with this post as I seek to understand our mission.

God’s Mission

God’s mission is to redeem all of creation in Christ as seen in Col 1:20, and through the overarching metanarrative of Scripture – Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Recreation.

Our Mission is God’s Mission

I believe the mission of a Christian is to reflect God’s mission. If we are to take up God’s mission, and His mission is to bring redemption to all of creation, then our primary mission and directive is to follow God’s mission. This means the mission we are own is not our own, it is God’s, and we are apart of that mission as His co-workers (1 Cor. 3:9), who are working to bring redemption to all of mankind through the gospel (Col 1:20). God, starting with Israel (Isaiah 43:10-12) and continuing to the church today (Acts 1:8), purposefully set a people aside to take up His mission (Gen. 12, Eph. 1, 1 Pet. 2:9-10), meaning all those who are redeemed are on mission for God, not just vocational pastors.

Our Primary Mission

I believe our primary part, as God’s co-workers, who are on His mission, is to make God’s name known to all people, in order to make disciples (Matt. 28:18-20 and 2 Cor. 5:17-6:1).

Our Secondary Mission

However, our mission also includes confronting idols in people lives (Isa 40-48, Jeremiah 10, Deut 4 and 1 Cor. 10:22) and providing pastoral guidance to Christians (1 Cor. 8-10), so they will live lives radically different than the culture; thus, building plausibility structures for Christianity, which allows for the presentation of the gospel.

Furthermore, if our mission is to mirror God’s mission, we should look after the poor, orphans, and widows (James 1:27; Ps 146:9). As we work to help the underprivileged, alleviating social concerns and fighting for social justice, we create plausibility structures allowing for the proclamation of the gospel, as well as we are helping to redeem all of creation.

Our Secondary Mission Pushes Our Primary Mission Forward

By confronting idols, providing pastoral guidance, and working to help the underprivileged, we build plausibility structures for the presentation of the gospel, as well as work to redeem society. This means our secondary mission works to move our primary mission forward. Therefore, we see the combination of our primary and secondary missions work together to accomplish God’s mission, which is to reconcile all of creation to Christ.

Conclusion

As believers we have been set-aside for God’s mission, not our own (1 Cor. 3:9). Our purpose, as redeemed citizens of heaven, and those who are on mission with God, is to make the gospel known to all peoples. The primary means by which we accomplish God’s mission is through being sent out to make disciples through personal evangelism (Matt. 28:18-20, 2 Cor. 5:20-6:1).

In order to make our evangelism more effective, we must build plausibility structures by performing acts of social justice, confronting Christian’s idols, and providing pastoral guidance, so Christians know how to live. Through these efforts, plausibility structures are built, as well as we work to redeem creation.

However, in all these efforts, we must not forget creation can only be redeemed in Christ, so our ultimate goal in any social justice project, or moral reform in ourselves, or our churches, is for the purpose of presenting the gospel to the nations, so all things will be reconciled in Christ.

In short, God is on mission to redeem all of creation, we are apart of that mission as His elect peoples, and our purpose in that mission is to present the gospel through our actions and words, by which God will redeem all of creation in Christ for His glory.

Resources

The Mission of God by Christopher Wright

Contextual and Missional by Tim Keller

Image: maple / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How to Get Our People and Ourself on Mission

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Discipleship, Evangelism, Leadership, Pastoral, Practical5 Comments

Have you ever wondered why it is so hard to get on mission for Jesus and stay on mission? For most of us, we are excited to say we are living missionally, we throw the vocabulary around because it sounds cool, but the actual practice of living missionally is difficult. Why is it hard to live missionally? How we can actually get started and sustain our mission?

How Can we GET on Mission and STAY on Mission?

If we want ourselves and our people to be on mission for Christ, our affection for Christ must be the dominating affection of our hearts. If something else is the dominating affection, such as acceptance, status, or materialism, then mission will not be fully realized, and it is probably not going to start. Living on mission and staying on mission is a heart issue. It is not a program or strategy issue, which means we must attack a lack of mission at the heart level.

How can we increase Our affections for Jesus?

(1) We must have an unwavering commitment to understanding the Gospel in a greater way.

We have to be willing to make a commitment to understanding how every aspect of our life is affected by the gospel, and how every aspect of our life can be a gospel moment. Here is what I mean. Our life is a gospel moment when others witness the radical change Christ has performed in our lives. For instance, when a Christian’s view of sex, money, and power is radically different than our cultures, the gospel’s power to transform our life is demonstrated, not only to the world, but to ourselves. But that gospel change won’t result unless we commit to understanding the gospel in a greater way. An understanding that should result in our affections for Jesus changing as we recognize how wicked and depraved we really are and how great Jesus’ salvation really is.

(2) We must be willing to fail.

In our willingness to fail, we show we realize we are not the ones who expand the kingdom; rather, it is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who expand the kingdom. As we depend on God, see Him sustain us, and even use us to expand His kingdom, our affection for Him should increase and stimulate us to further mission.

(3) The travailing of our souls should cause us to pray.

As we face the laborious task of mission, our soul will inevitably groan with pain, because, let’s be honest, being on mission is hard, much harder than we might have first thought. The difficulties of mission should drive us to pray more often and more fervently. Prayer creates intimacy with Jesus and that intimacy should increase our affections for Jesus.

(4) Become an expert in proclaiming Jesus.

We become an expert on proclaiming Jesus by studying Scripture. As we study Scripture, we should gain a deeper understanding of who Jesus is and that should increase our affections for Him.

Conclusion

Changing the affections of our heart is key to getting on and staying on mission, which we are able to influence by committing to understand the gospel more deeply, be willing to fail, praying, and becoming an expert in proclaiming Jesus’ message through the study of Jesus’ Word. Doing these things should change our heart’s affections and drive us to mission, one that is more joyful and sustainable.

Resources

This post was developed from Tyler Jones’ sermon “The Church Planters Mission,” which you can find on iTunes under the Acts29 Network Podcast, or by clicking here (Note: it will be the one initially highlighted in light grey).

A great article on the subject of evangelism is Brent Nelson’s article Woe to Me if I don’t Evangelize