"GO, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe [obey] all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20
That is our great commission and we all know that. Gabby and I came out here wanting to do this. Specifically, to GO into the nations and teach people to obey his commands. Just a few weeks ago I realized that I had not been seeing this scripture fully.
I confess that in my thinking the pressure was on me to evangelize and disciple all people in all the nations. Not because of some big shot thinking. I really don't know why I had that thought and I didn't know that I was actually even thinking that way. We started reading a book called "The Great Omission" written by Steve Saint who's father Nate Saint was speared to death along with Jim Elliott and 3 other guys in Ecuador by the Waodani tribe. Steve and his aunt Rachel went and lived with these people and Steve is still there today and the people are thriving believers in the Amazon Jungle spreading the Gospel amongst their own people. The premise of his book through the last 35 years of experience with missions work on both the going and receiving end is we Westerners have taken it upon ourselves to be the only ones able to evangelize the world. Now here me out so I can make it clear and I suggest you read the book because it is just amazing and life changing and I won't do it justice pulling a synopsis out of it. Unknowingly we have showed up to foreign countries thinking that if it isn't done our way and if we don't do it the work doesn't get done and it won't get done properly. Since we have all the money and technology and schools etc.
This is so false. And Steve's book has opened my eyes to my own false interpretation of missions that I didn't know was there. I want to briefly explain how we want and are currently doing missions.
Jesus says very simply to go into all the world leading all people to the saving grace of His death and resurrection and then teach them to obey all His commandments. And one of those commandments is this. That they GO into all the world and baptize people into the fellowship of the Kingdom of Heaven and teach those people to obey all that He commands so they in turn do the very same thing leading others to Jesus. DUH...
Why do we miss this simple reality. Because if you read Acts and follow the work of Paul and read his letters to the churches he is preaching a brand new thing to both Jews and pagans and teaches them all the commands to Jesus helps them setup a leadership of elders and teachers and moves on. And the longest he actually stays in one place is 2 years and that was in Ephesus. Thats not a long time to be with a people and trust them with something totally new and take off. He continues to stay in contact with them be sending people and writing letters but Paul did not see it necessary that he stay for 10-15 years making sure everything is perfect and everyone is at his level. I am not saying that missionaries should only stay in a place for 2-3 years. Nor should a pastor at a church in the Western world. Paul received direct guidance from Jesus and it was obviously pleasing to Jesus for Paul to move on after a short amount of time entrusting them to hear from Jesus themselves and reach their own people. So we go where He tells us to go and we stay for as long as He wants us to stay. For most, in my opinion, it should be a lifetime in one place. There is so much more to say on this and the what ifs and all that so read Steve's book and he will answer those thoughts. This is supposed to be a short blog hah!
Why do we even go into the world and make disciples if they should be doing it themselves. First, because Jesus told Gabby and I to GO. Second, the purpose and main function of Mountain Gateway as I can only speak for what Gabby and I have committed to here is to raise up Pioneer Missionaries. Meaning sending missionaries where the Gospel has not be shared yet. Who will stay in that area long enough to get the church running on their own 2 feet. Because Westerners are a blessed people we have the money, resources, and support to go reveal Jesus where He is not yet known. But it is not up to us to pour billions of dollars into building billions of churches and youth programs and outreach events in all those areas. We will serve the people according to their needs amongst their own culture. It does not have to look like the American Western church.
Jesus is concerned about one thing. That as many people as possible believe that He is alive and live their lives on earth in fellowship with Him bringing as many more people as possible to meeting Him. It gets to be that simple. I am grateful Jesus has made this clear to us now. It is as if a huge weight has rolled off our backs and we can see the exciting simplicity of it. Steve Saint's father was killed before he could tell one of those Waodani people about Jesus. Yet a majority of that tribe is now "walking God's trail" as they put it and themselves leading others to walk God's trail.
So what do we need as GOING missionaries? We need all the prayer and financial support we can get to show up to a people that don't know Jesus, and stay as long as we can to make sure they are on good footing to reach their own people. Just as Paul showed up and preached to as many people as possible and helping them hear the voice of God for themselves and live out His commands we will do the same. And we will stay there for as long as God wants us to.
It was so encouraging to recently hear from the missionaries in Mexico that the believers that have been being discipled the past several years are taking the reigns in the work. And they are doing it while they have to take care of their own fields and cattle to feed their families. But they are self-confident and not white man dependent to do the work for them. It would require a couple hundred missionaries to take care of all people that we are currently ministering to in Mexico if we weren't empowering the people to do it themselves. Which would also require millions of dollars to help those missionaries live which just isn't efficient at all. We need laborers as Jesus said in the harvest field, but most of those laborers are people who need to take care of their own fields. Which includes me and you wherever we are living. It is easy for people of a lower economic society to believe the lie that they are not equipped to do the work of ministry. Praise be to God they have the same Holy Spirit as the rest of us and can "Do all things through Christ who gives me strength." And Jesus says at the end of His commission to us that He will be with us, all of us who call Him Lord in all that we do.
So thanks for reading this and praying for us.
God Bless You,
Chad
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