Isn’t Missions Just for Missionaries?
MARCH 14, 2023 | 1.5 MINUTE READ
WGM MOBILIZATION DEPARTMENT
As a young boy, Oswald J. Smith was often sick. He missed school for two years because of a terrible case of pneumonia. Due to his ill health, doctors predicted he would not live to see adulthood. But by God’s grace, Oswald survived. As a young man, he longed to be a missionary.
However, Oswald’s sicknesses followed him into adulthood, so no missions organizations would send him. Feeling the urgency of the commission, Oswald decided instead to invest in others. “If I can’t go myself, I will send someone else,” he said.
Oswald eventually planted the People’s Church in Toronto. He used his ministry platform to speak to thousands, inspiring them to become missionaries.
WGM has had its own share of Oswald-like partners. For example, fifteen-year-old Seanan raised over $25,000 for VT Albania to install an elevator so that wheelchair users could navigate the facility more easily.
In a wheelchair himself due to Noonan Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy, Seanan thinks of himself as an ambassador for the work WGM does in Albania.
Missions is not only for missionaries. Every believer has an important role to play in the Great Commission. Even if God isn’t calling you to go overseas, there are numerous ways to engage in the Great Commission without going.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
PRAY
- Ask your church for a list of missionaries they support and pray for them.
- Start a prayer ministry at your church, school, or with your friends for people without access to the Gospel around the world.
- Join WGM’s Luke 10:2 prayer challenge and pray for more missionaries to go to the nations every day at 10:02 a.m. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”
- Email a missionary you know and tell them you are committing to partnering with them in prayer daily.
EDUCATE
- Immerse yourself in missions resources (books, podcasts, websites, etc.).
- Learn the missions theme of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and share it with a friend or family member.
- Teach missions to a local Sunday school class.
WELCOME
- Reach out to international students at your school or in your neighborhood and get to know their stories and cultures.
- Explore community outreach opportunities at a local refugee center.
- Help refugees settle into your community.
GIVE
- Be bold in your financial contribution to a missionary you know.
- Give up your weekly coffee money and instead donate it to a missions organization you trust.
- Regularly contribute to your church’s missions ministry.
Let us know how you participate in missions by connecting with us on social media:
- BeReal: @worldgospelmission
- Instagram: @worldgospelmission
- Facebook: @DiscoverMissions