But Overseas Is To Far

Many of us in the church don’t feel the call to go spend years overseas. The thought of leaving our family for that amount of time scares us. Opportunities that allow a week or even a couple a weeks are great, but even they are still really expensive. All this talk about how we are all called is great, but can leave you feeling guilty. What about those of us who have to work, support families and involved in so many other things? First of all the feeling should not be guilt or even pressure to go overseas for extended periods of time. This is where you have to listen to the Holy Spirit. What you are feeling is a tug at your heart to do something. To impact lives. It is true that a fulltime missionary has a special call on their lives. Now this call is probably extended to more than go. If this is the call that God has given you, please do not ignore it. Now what you can’t do is have the excuse. “God hasn’t called me to missions.” That would be a lie. He has called all of us to go. He has called all of us to participate in the making of disciples.

Let’s take a close look at Acts 1:8 NIV “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Now lets look at the cities: Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. Acts 1:8 is spoken to the disciples as Jesus is being taken up into heaven. The disciples’ home base was going to be Jerusalem. Jesus had told them to go to Jerusalem and wait until the Holy Spirit arrived. Jerusalem was to be the base of Christianity, it became the disciples home. Jesus said, “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem” or in terms for today, “you will be my witnesses in your home town.”

Be a missionary where you are. You have been put in your city, your town, and your dot on a map to help in the process of making disciples for Christ. Look around your home for opportunities to share the love of Christ with those around you. Here is a little statistic that will help you see how much you are needed where you are already. Less than 70% of people living in the United States consider themselves a Christian (Christian in this instance includes all who claim to be Christian; Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, Evangelicals…). This number is sharply declining. It is predicted by the year 2042 that non-Christians will out number Christians in the United States. (Data from 2001 ARIS Study) Your neighbors need for you to be a missionary to them! God has you positioned perfectly to reach somebody around you for His kingdom. GO!

Haley Uhrig