by Missionary Rick Groover

A Chinese Christian was asked after returning from a visit to the United States what the most amazing thing was about the Christians in the U.S. He said, "The most amazing thing about the Christians in the United States is how much they have been able to accomplish without God."

One way you can tell if your personal ministry is lacking is if you can explain it all. I recently asked someone how their church service was. They responded that it was good. I asked them, "So, did something supernatural happen or was it business as usual?"

Where did we get the idea that ministry is to be "explainable?" Certainly not by reading the New Testament! Missionary, can you tell us about the supernatural power of God working in your life and ministry? If we cannot, then we are lacking!

As the blues of the horizon from the sky and sea merge, so subtly, silently, the Lord's touch gently, deftly positions people, places, events. Reflecting back on the day, I can still hear the young lady's soft gentle voice filling the small room, the passionate tones rising and falling in her foreign tongue.

Today was Wednesday. Writing day. Concentration was challenged by external distractions in a familiar workspace, so packing up my computer and books and heading for the public library seemed to be a logical solution. I anticipated a quiet alcove where I could hide away from civilization and become entrenched in comma splices and gerunds. Oh, but God had a different plan for me. It was no accident that I walked into the library for the first time to write, and the "quiet room" was occupied by one other person.

Entering the room as the intruder, I quickly spied my corner and settled into writing mode. Shortly thereafter my thoughts were jolted by the rude electronic signal of a cell phone. I bristled at the unwelcome noise in our tomb. The conversation at the opposite end of the room was passionate, filled with foreign, unfamiliar syllables. My ears were drawn to a poignant conversation; although spoken in a different tongue, the body language communicated volumes. I quickly exited the room to give my roommate privacy.

by David Parker

Missions is not the "ministry of choice" for a few hyperactive Christians in the church. Missions is the purpose of the church.

There is dearth of understanding among Christians in the church today about God and His work. It's amazing how many Christians actually believe that missions should be done only after "Jerusalem" is reached. We show our ignorance when we say, "We have to reach Jerusalem first!" Jesus said, "Both...and" in Acts 1:8. I believe this "Jerusalem First" mindset qualifies for the same rebuke which our Lord directed to a few others who were known as experts in the Word, "Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures" (Matthew 22:29).

Historically, missions and revival have always gone together. Believers who have truly grown close to the Lord have been passionate about missions. "A church that does not recognize the primacy of missions deprives herself of the most intimate relationship with her Lord, fails to identify herself with the primary purpose of God, robs her membership of the deepest experiences of the Holy Spirit, and denies the world the greatest blessings the Lord in grace has provided. She ceases to be truly Christian" (George W. Peters). Likewise, Henry Martyn said, "The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions, and the nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become."

The root of a "Jerusalem First" mindset is ethnocentricity and selfishness. It may also include a form of forgetfulness about what we are really supposed to be doing. But if we are the "church," the mission is missions. It is not "up for vote" because "as my father hath sent me, even so send I you" (John 20:21).