As the morning sun wipes the darkness from the earth each Lord’s Day, Christians from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue rise to worship our risen Savior. How astonishing! The late Timothy Keller, author and former senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, observed this surprising reality:
One of the unique things about Christianity is that it is the only truly worldwide religion. Over 90 percent of Muslims live in a band from Southeast Asia to the Middle East and Northern Africa. Over 95 percent of all Hindus are in India and its immediate environs. Some 88 percent of Buddhists are in East Asia. However, about 25 percent of Christians live in Europe, 25 percent in Central and South America, 22 percent in Africa, 15 percent (and growing fast) in Asia, and 12 percent in North America.¹
Jesus’ gospel alone can be communicated, received, and transform every person irrespective of worldview, language, customs, or culture. This is possible because one of the core attributes of our great God is to send. Modern theologians have reemphasized the sending nature of God, who sent Jesus into the world to proclaim and inaugurate His kingdom. Jesus, with the cross before Him, charged His apostles (a term meaning “sent ones”), “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21). Acts 1:8 recounts how the disciples became Jesus’ witnesses “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” This verse communicates the disciples’ unique call to spread the earth-shaking, curtain-rending Good News to the world.
In his book the Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative, Christopher Wright explains, “It is not so much that God has a mission for His church in the world, but that God has a church for His mission in the world.” As the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:20, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” The global church and a healthy congregation live their true calling when they embrace discipling congregants and proclaiming God’s message to the world. Hence, our last Epistle focused on the worship of God because worship serves as the primary means of discipleship. Yet, our calling is not limited to making local disciples. Scripture offers a vision of the fulfillment of God’s mission in Revelation 7:9, “…before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”
In this issue we focus on God’s global mission, recalling how He so loved the world that He sent, and continues to send. In its pages, you will read about how God is leveraging First Church in reaching the world. While not everyone is called to be on the mission field, we all share in the call to proclaim the gospel.
by Pastor Brad Rogers
¹Keller, Timothy. 2016. Making Sense of God: Finding God in the Modern World. Penguin Books.
