Should we be reaching nations?

Jack Skett raises an important question to grapple with

Jack Skett

Is International Missions still important today? That might seem like an odd question to ask when you work for Elim’s International Missions Department, but it’s an important one for us to grapple with. International Missions has been a part of Elim’s DNA since the very early days of our movement. Reaching Nations is currently one of our four national priorities, as set by the NLT.

The mission of the church is often summed up in the Great Commission Jesus gave to his disciples before ascending to heaven: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) I’ve sometimes heard the command to ‘go’ interpreted as ‘as you are going…’. As you go about your life, doing what you do… as you go to work, as you engage with your community, make disciples. I love the heart of this. It’s inclusive; every Christian can and should join in with the mission of God where they are. We are all disciple-makers. Having said that, I can’t help but look both at the essence of Jesus’ words here and the resulting movement in the early church and wonder if the call is actually more direct.

The Greek word Jesus uses here is ‘poreuomai’, which means go, travel, move from one place to another. There’s an imperative here; Jesus says ‘go’ because he expects us to go. After all, if the commission is to make disciples of all the nations, that will require some people to leave the place where they are and travel to a place where there are no disciples.

Of course, it’s a both/and situation. Not every Christian will be called to go to another nation. If we were all called in that way, then there would be nobody left to reach the UK! But for some, the Great Commission takes on a new shape as God grips your heart for a particular nation.

Reaching Nations is one of our four priorities as a movement. The Elim website puts it this way: “Elim aims to be an international disciple-making movement with strategies for church planting and leadership development in the nations. We will do this through our continued focus on surrendering to the Spirit, sending and supporting missionaries, and the promotion of the church in the UK and overseas.”

If you or your church has a God-given passion for a particular nation, whether you want to send a team on a short-term trip or you are sensing a call to long-term mission, Elim Missions is here to help you.

Jack Skett is Elim Missions Communication and Content Creator.

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.

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