Skip to main content

Organizing for Missions: Part 2 by Pastor Charlie Handren

By Anonymous
     On May 12, 1792 William Carey published a little pamphlet entitled, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens. By God’s grace, his words inspired the modern missionary movement, and by God’s grace, I’m praying that they will inspire a fresh passion for global missions at Glory of Christ.
     Having urged his readers to commit themselves to prayer for the sake of missions, and having called on his own Baptist denomination to lead the way in forming a mission society, Carey, Andrew Fuller, John Ryland, and John Sutcliff founded the Particular Baptist Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Amongst the Heathen (subsequently known as the Baptist Missionary Society and since 2000 as BMS World Mission) in October 1792. This society, along with Carey’s public speaking engagements, inspired others to rise up and form many more societies, to send thousands of missionaries around the world, and to bear much fruit for the glory of God.
     Furthermore, this initial explosion of missionary societies has given rise to so many missionary endeavors over the last two-hundred-twenty-six years that it would literally be impossible to track, much less report on, the amount of fruit that has been borne among the nations of the world. Of course, along with the fruit has come many problems and hurtful errors, but through it all the Lord of the Church has seen fit to glorify his name throughout the earth as his people have risen to take seriously the Great Commission. Oh what blessings have come from Carey’s mustard seed of faith!
     As for today, missionary societies have largely been replaced by missions agencies and a vast number of church-based or independent missionary endeavors. While the scope of the modern missions movement is vast, and the issues involved in it are complex, it really boils down to a basic principle: Jesus Christ has commissioned his Church to take the gospel to the nations of the world by his authority and for his glory. Therefore, every church and Christian must play a part in this global endeavor until the gospel has been heard by every tribe, tongue, and nation on the earth.
     Therefore, GCF has been committed to playing our part in fulfilling the Great Commission since before we were formally constituted as a church. We began by supporting one missionary and then another, and we have made key decisions that have led us to focus our missions efforts and dollars on supporting a few missionaries who are seeking to reach unreached people groups by establishing and strengthening local churches around the world. I encourage you to consult our website (www.gcfmn.org) for the latest information on our supported missionaries, and to contact the Missions Team if you’d like more information. I also urge you to pray and ask Jesus to reveal the part he would have you play in fulfilling the Great Commission.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord, by George Muller

By Anonymous
To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord By George Muller “It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, the benefit of which I have not lost for more than fourteen years. The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord, but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. “I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God—not prayer, but the Word of God. And here again, not the simple reading of the Word of God so that it only passes through my mind just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what I read, pondering over it, and applying it to my heart. To meditate on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed. And that thus,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Billy Graham, Holiness, and Leadership

By
A few years ago, I was listening to a radio program on which Marshall Shelley was being interviewed about his new book, The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham (Zondervan, 2005). They were giving away a few copies of the book to those who called in, and something inside me felt compelled to call. But I didn’t have a good question to ask, so I prayed to the Lord and said, “If you want me to have a copy of this book, please give me a good question to ask and I’ll call.” I’m not sure if the Lord gave me this question or if it just popped into my head, but one way or the other, I thought to ask about the connection in Billy’s life between his private pursuit of holiness and integrity, and his public effectiveness and longevity. So, I made the call and was given the last copy of the book they had to give. A couple of years earlier, I had breakfast with some friends and the subject of Billy Graham’s life and ministry came up. We talked mostly about his commitment to integrity in the area...
Post a Comment
Read more

Catechisms: Building a Heritage of Sound Faith - By Pastor Kevin Feder

By
This is an article I (Pastor Kevin) wrote in 2005 and updated in 2017. It is featured in a new resource available through Children’s Desiring God called Discipleship through Doctrinal Teaching and Catechism by Sally Michael.  It is our desire to encourage parents to use a children’s catechism as a tool in building and strengthening faith in children. A simple definition of a catechism is “organized teaching.” Catechisms are not the only things that can or should be used to instruct the next generation, yet they have useful purposes. Listed here are ten specific benefits a catechism can uniquely offer. Hopefully these ten points will help parents understand how a catechism can be effectively used in their families. 1.  A catechism is a very clear and complete gospel message. A catechism is, among other things, a very clear and concise gospel message to children. Everything a child needs to know for salvation is embodied within a catechism. The gospel is truly ama...
Post a Comment
Read more