How To Jump Off The Fence And Decide To Support Missions

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I love being a missionary. Sometimes it is exciting and perhaps a little dangerous. A few years ago I was in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa. My two American colleagues and I were leading a church planter training event with over 500 Congolese in attendance.

This is a home I visited in Côte d’Ivoire (West Africa)

Because the country was so devastated by war, we could not pay our “hotel” room charges with any kind of bankcard, check or other method besides cash. So we had to have a large amount of money wired from the USA to a bank.

I was appointed to go to the bank to pickup the cash. I was accompanied by two bodyguards. On the way back to the church, with my pocket stuffed with the cash, we were stopped by the police. They were demanding a fine from the driver for a supposed traffic violation.

Soon the policemen got in the car and were directing the driver where to drive. They were speaking with the bodyguards in French.

The only word I could understand was “missionaire.” I figured that was me.

Later I found out that most foreigners like me were carrying guns and the bodyguards were trying to reassure the police I was an unarmed missionary.

In such an awkward situation, I was getting a little nervous. The economy was so desperate that police and military were paid only sporadically. I had no idea where I was or where we were going. I couldn’t understand what was being said and my pocket was stuffed with the equivalent of perhaps a year’s income for an average Congolese.

We drove for a while until the car stopped. Was this the end of the road?

I looked out and recognized the building—it was the church where we were training church planters. They let me out of the car with the bodyguards and drove off. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I presume the police extracted their bribe elsewhere.

My story is lighthearted compared to others’ stories. Not many years ago missionaries were executed in the Congo during a time of violence. Recently the world has been made aware of the missionary doctor who contracted Ebola and nearly died for his love of Christ and the people in Liberia. 

Certainly I am not excited about seeing my life or others lives in jeopardy. But I am excited about sharing the Good News.

Everyone on earth should be given an opportunity to hear the Gospel and to respond. Yet, many die without ever even hearing the name of Jesus.

As Christians, we are responsible to fulfill the Great Commission and spread the Good News that Jesus Christ was crucified and rose again for our sins.

Here are 5 important reasons to support missions work:

Salvation is for Everyone

Scripture says, “‘Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.’ For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” (Romans 10:11-13 NIV)

Note the words “anyone” and “everyone” in the verse above.

Salvation is for every person in the world and not limited to:

• Jews

• Gentiles

• Good people

• Generous people

• Certain Church denominations

There’s some Bad News about the Good News

The good news is that through Jesus Christ we can be saved and have security for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven.

The bad news is that 30 million people will die this year never hearing God’s salvation plan; over the past 40 years one billion people have died never hearing about Jesus.

The Gospel is only good news if people hear it and are saved.

If you think people don’t necessarily need to hear the Gospel to be saved, that’s not what this passage says. If you want more proof please read my article, “Six Reasons all Roads DON’T Lead to Heaven.”

Hearing is the Vital First Step

“How, then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” (Romans 10:14-15 NIV)

In these verses we see that to call on the Lord and be saved people must:

• Hear – Someone (a missionary) must tell them the Gospel message.

• Believe – They must believe that Jesus died for sins and rose again from the dead to conquer sin and death.

• Call – It is not enough just to hear and believe. People must call on the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness and salvation.

How can people hear, believe and call? The verses say that someone must be “sent.” Missionaries must be sent to tell people about Jesus in places where the Good News has never been proclaimed.

And in order to be sent there must be senders—people who support missions work around the world.

Every Christian is Called; Either to Go or to Send Others

There cannot be missionaries if there are no Christians sending them.

Believers must spread the Gospel message even to the most remote locations of the world so that all can hear.

Missionaries are Christians who have been called by God to the occupation of proclaiming the Good News. They make many sacrifices, usually travel abroad and sometimes move to foreign lands to teach God’s Word.

If you are not called to be a missionary you can help to send missionaries:

• Pray for missionaries and their needs. You can sign up for my prayer updates HERE.

• Financially support missionaries. You can give to my ministry HERE.

Resources for more information on missions and church planting:

• Here’s a video of a message I gave on church planting: Global Church Planting Sunday Message Video

Here are some of my related articles:

• 4 Reasons We Must Start New Churches Now

• 6 Answers to Questions About Church Planting

• 4 Obstacles to Church Planting and the Myths Behind Them

6 Answers To Questions About Church Planting

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I started planting a church at just 26 years of age. Having no prior experience in serving on a church staff, I really didn’t know what I was doing. We started in a living room with only 13 people on the first Sunday. Remarkably, the church is still going over 30 years later. Also, many other churches have been started out of that church.

Every church was started by someone sometime. Snapped this photo of one in Hawaii recently. Christians hear about church planting but have questions.

Here are answers to these 6 common questions about church planting:

WHO Plants Churches?

The Bible says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10 NIV)

Jesus provided salvation when He died for sins and rose again. But He passed the torch of spreading the Good News to His followers after He ascended into heaven.

We can learn about how the early believers spread the Good News in the “Acts of the Apostles.”

There we find:

• The disciples going from town to town, preaching and starting churches

• The Gospel spreading throughout Asia and Europe through evangelism and church planting

• Everywhere the Gospel was spread there were churches planted

We must do what the original believers did.

Every Christian is called to church planting. Some are called to go and plant. Others are called to stay and support church planting through prayer, finances and in other ways

WHAT is Church Planting?

Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18b ESV) This means the universal church and local churches as well.

Church comes from EKKLESIA: a Greek compound word literally translated as “an assembly of called out ones.”

Definition: A church is a group of believers in Christ who meet for biblical worship, learning, and mission.

Starting a church does not require:

• A lot of money

• A big staff

• A large building or any building

It just takes willing hearts!

WHEN Should We Plant Churches?

“While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.’” (Acts 13:2-3 ESV)

This verse is the beginning of the church planting journeys of Paul and many companions.

When do we plant churches? Whenever God calls us to, and when our hearts are:

• Open

• Willing

• Earnestly praying

Perhaps you think God has called but you didn’t answer. Remember this phrase: “The best next time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The next best time is now.”

WHERE Should Churches be Planted?

Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 ESV)

Jesus was instructing believers in Jerusalem to spread the Gospel:

In Jerusalem (their home town)In Judea (their home province)In Samaria (an area of cultural diversity yet close by)To the end of the earth (everywhere)

This same pattern is right for today:

• Plant in your hometown

• Plant in your region

• Plant in areas of cultural diversity

• Plant to the ends of the earth.

Start planting at home and reach out from there.

WHY Must We Plant Churches?

Jesus said, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul.” (Mark 8:36 KJV)

Nothing is more important than one’s eternal destiny. But we have yet to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth as Jesus said to do.

We must plant churches because it is the most biblical and effective way to obey Christ’s Great Commission.

Local churches need to be established in conjunction with evangelism so people can grow in their faith and become true followers of Jesus.

Additionally, planting churches is the way to bring lasting social change and to make the greatest impact on issues such as:

• AIDS

• Hunger

• Unhealthy Water

• Lack of Medical Care

HOW Can We Plant More Churches?

IF YOU ARE CALLED TO GO, then let church leaders know of your interest in planting new churches:

• Let your pastor/s know

• Contact Dynamic Church Planting International about volunteer and staff opportunities

• Contact me for coaching in church planting

IF YOU ARE CALLED TO STAY and support, then give and pray for church planting around the world.

You can PRAY:

• For church planting among unreached people groups

• For my ministry

• For the ministry I work with: Dynamic Church Planting International

• For church planting in the persecuted church

You can GIVE:

To my ministry with DCPITo the general ministry of Dynamic Church Planting International

FOR MORE INFORMATION about church planting:

See my article “4 Obstacles to Church Planting and the Myths Behind Them”See my article “4 Reasons We MUST Start New Churches Now“Watch my message on “Global Church Planting Sunday”

4 Obstacles To Church Planting And The Myths Behind Them

Occasionally, I experience difficulty hearing due to an accumulation of earwax obstructing my ear canal. It is an annoying hindrance that limits my hearing in the physical sense. Thankfully, my wife Carolyn is an RN and helps me by extracting the blockage. The result is I am able to hear well again.

CC Image courtesy of Justin Brown on Flickr

In a similar way, Christians can have their spiritual hearing blocked through “spiritual wax buildup” resulting in incorrect mindsets. The world, the flesh, and the devil all reduce our ability to hear God’s call.

Our hearing can be blocked from God’s call to fulfill the “Great Commission” (Matthew 28:19-20).

“He, who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 2:7 NIV)

Here are 4 common obstacles to hearing the call to church planting and the myths behind them:

1. We must be Successful

The world, the flesh and the devil tell us:

• You must be successful

• You must never fail

• You tried it before and it flopped

But in the Book of Acts, as Paul and Barnabas set out to plant new churches, they had:

Three immediate church planting failures (in Salamis, Paphos and Perga, see Acts 13:1-13), before one success (in Antioch of Pisidia Acts 13:14 and 14:21-23)Great opposition and persecution.Strife and division (Acts 15:39)

Success in church planting is: “Sharing the Good News with a view to starting new churches in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God.” (This is an adaption of Bill Bright’s definition of evangelism.)

We don’t have to always be “successful,” just faithful.

2. God can use Other Ways

We live in a day of fantastic evangelistic advances such as:

• The internet which is being used by ministries such as Global Media Outreach to lead multitudes to Christ

• Printing presses which churn out Bibles at amazing rates

• Christian radio and television

But Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18)

While other ministries are significant, Jesus clearly wants to build His church.

Planting local churches is vital because:

• Evangelism without discipleship is “Hit and Run” evangelism. We are called to make disciples or learners and followers. The goal is disciples, not just decisions.

• Discipleship happens best in churches.

This is why Dr. Peter Wagner and others agree that, “The single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven is the planting of new churches.”

God gives no better method to fulfill the “Great Commission” than planting new churches.

3. We can’t Afford it

This is another lie that Satan wants us to believe. Scripture tells us that he is called, “…a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)

It is normal to question whether we should plant churches out of our own church, and wonder what we will receive back from our investment. It does cost us:

• Financial expenses

• People leaving in order to plant the church

• Time and work

But in Revelation 2:19 (NIV) Jesus says, “I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.”

Jesus knows our sacrifices and He is the one worth pleasing.

People come to faith in Christ in new church plants and that is what really matters.

It actually costs too much NOT to plant churches.

4. God can use Someone Else

Isaiah said, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8 NIV)

God wants to write many more eternal stories and all Christians are called:

• Some are called to GO

• Some are called to SEND

Jesus calls us to a radical commitment: “Then he said to them all, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” (Luke 9:23 NIV)

Take up your cross = death to self!Deny yourself!Follow Jesus!

Pray and ask God if He wants you to be one who goes or one who sends others.

God calls some to plant churches and others to give financial, prayer and other support. The bottom line? Ask God and do whatever He tells you to do to help with church planting.