Without a doubt, being a child of God means being unique. Without a doubt, God made you for a purpose, and He wants to use your unique self to impact this world. How, then, can it be that every follower of Christ is called to the same thing? If we are all unique with a unique purpose, what purpose binds us all together?
As Christians, we tend to focus on a lot of things that every Christian is called to do.
Every Christian is called to pray. Also, every Christian is called to study God’s word. Every Christian is called to serve Him, give Him glory, and make His name known. BUT…is every Christian called to be a missionary? Not really. We might say that every Christian is called to missions, but every Christian is NOT called to be a missionary. Leaving one’s home and serving cross-culturally is truly a unique calling by God,
and we should not diminish that role by saying that everyone is called to be a missionary!
If every Christian, and thus every local congregation made up of all of those Christians,
is called to missions, what can they be doing if they are not all called to be missionaries? As it turns out, there are 6 ways to reach God’s world, as designed through a framework from OMF (https://omf.org/us/6-ways/).
- LEARN-Live out your unique purpose in missions by learning about something unique to you. Learn about a new unreached people group (UPG), learn about a different mission agency or missionary serving overseas, or learn about a new church strategy in missions.
- PRAY-Live out your unique purpose in missions by praying and asking God how He wants you to serve Him in missions. Pray for a worker serving cross-culturally, pray for God’s kingdom to expand into a new nation, or pray for your church to engage further into missions ministry.
- GO-Live out your unique purpose in missions by going on mission. Maybe you are not called to serve long-term, but if you know you aren’t, consider going on a short-term trip.
- SEND-Live out your unique purpose in missions by sending someone else who is called to go long-term. Send someone through supporting them financially, supporting them logistically with other items they may need, or send them through praying for them.
- WELCOME-Live out your unique purpose in missions by welcoming others who are already in your town by crossing cultures locally. Welcome an international college student to a special church dinner or welcome the refugees down the street by prayer walking in front of their house.
- MOBILIZE-Live out your unique purpose in missions by mobilizing others in your church or friends group. Maybe you have already found your purpose in missions, so you can help another find out the ways in which he/she can become more involved without ever leaving home.
No doubt, everyone is called to missions.
The Great Commission makes that very clear. However, finding one’s unique purpose might start with examining these 6 ways and determining which seems to be a more specific calling.
For further information about the 6 ways and a free workshop on this topic for your church, feel free to reach out. There is also a great video resource at this link that will give perspective on “What’s Wrong with the American Perception of Missions?”.
Kirsten McClain is a Church Missions Consultant for OMF International. She has been serving in missions mobilization for the last 20 years and has a heart to see the church realize her potential in missions. Learn more about the free missions coaching, training, and consulting resources available to you or your church at kmcclainomfmail@gmail.com.