Missionaries

Scripture:  Acts 8:1-4

1 Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen. A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. 2 (Some devout men came and buried Stephen with great mourning.) 3 But Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison. 4 But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went. (Acts 8:1-4 NLT)

As Saul’s persecution of the church intensified, many Christ-followers fled Jerusalem. Many of them took refuge in the rural towns and villages of Judea and some even went into Samaria and beyond to escape the house-to-house raids Saul was leading. These (ordinary) believers (people like you and me) became missionaries everywhere they went. They simply cared about the people they met (people who Jesus had said were like sheep without a shepherd) and told the stories of how Jesus had changed their lives. And they told the truth that Jesus was still changing their lives and was willing to change the lives of all who believed in him!

In our compartmented way of thinking, missionaries (and evangelists) are particular sub-sets of Christ-followers. We think of missionaries as “special” Christians who take “special” training and then go to another nation or culture to win people to faith in Christ. Likewise we think of evangelists as “special” people with a “special” gift and calling who are trained to convert others to faith in Christ.

It’s exciting to me that with the help of a change in our thinking we can realize that we’re all called to be missionaries and evangelists. We can all simply Love our neighbors and Be good neighbors (or coworkers, or students or teachers, or EMT’s, or mechanics, or cashiers, or office managers) and Tell our Jesus stories to others we interact with.

Christ-followers who travel the world or who travel next door can all be missionaries and evangelists. It’s just a matter of being ourselves and taking the simple opportunities the Holy Spirit puts in our way as we go.

Prayer:

Father, Thank you for a change in our thinking about Missions and Evangelism that is bringing us closer to the way things were done in the Book of Acts. And thank you that this time it’s not only painful persecution but also Holy Spirit inspiration that is making it happen. Help us to learn to better cooperate with your Spirit to do your Kingdom’s work. Help us to all become missionaries. Amen.