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I hope that this movie brings the needs of the world to the forefront of your mind. We can’t just go through life thinking of ourselves only; we must have a worldview that goes beyond our cities and the United States. An event in my life broadened my perspective on what God calls us to in this life. Several years ago, I attended a youth conference where Tommy Oakes was the main speaker. He challenged everyone to pray for workers for the harvest (Matthew 9:38). He also asked for those who planned to be in full-time Christian service to come forward. It was a powerful event for me. I went forward and I have been on several mission fields short-term, as well as ministry stateside.

This, along with several other events, has broadened my vision for my purpose here on earth––to bring glory to God among the nations. I have to confess though that I haven’t consistently prayed for workers like I committed to that weekend. My missions minister says one way he remembers to pray for laborers is by setting his alarm on his watch for 9:38 (I assume a.m. and p.m.). I think that’s a great, practical way to remember to pray for this very important need. I hope that you will adopt this practice as well. Who knows, maybe you will be the one to fulfill your own prayer.

Many people will be needed to accomplish the task of world evangelization. Jesus said in Matthew 24:14. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”(New International Version)

We are all called to “go” by Jesus in The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), so, “What part of GO don’t you understand?” I know that not everyone reading this will go to the mission field, but I pray that everyone who does will be involved in missions in some way, whether it’s by interceding for the nations in prayer, funding missionaries who do go, encouraging them, providing missions awareness, or all of the above.

There are still MANY who are unreached. According to the Joshua Project, there are 15,918 people groups in the world, 6,623 of which are unreached. That means 41.6 percent of the world’s people groups do not know Jesus. Please seek God’s will for your role in taking His Good News to the nations. You aren’t too young to start planning for a career in missions. It starts with praying for laborers. From there, God may show you that you yourself are to be a laborer; one who will usher in the coming of Christ through world evangelization. What an honor!

Search the Scriptures:

Read Romans 10:14 &15

For Discussion:

1. This is a very practical passage. Obviously, no one can accept a message they have never heard. Would you like to be the one to take the most important message anyone could ever hear to a people who have never heard it?
2. Have you heard stories of people who have never heard the Gospel until a missionary or Bible translator took the Gospel to them?
3. This passage also talks about being a “sender.” Will you commit to praying to God for Him to reveal His will to you on what role you are to take in missions (being a “go-er” or a “sender”)?
4. Whatever role the Lord shows you that you need to fulfill, I pray that you will be obedient to it. What are some ways that you can begin to prepare now for the mission field (or help a friend prepare)? How can you be an effective sender?

Here are some ideas:

• Pray for the Lord’s guidance, and enlist a prayer team!
• Have a growing personal relationship with the Lord. If you don’t have a deep, intimate relationship with the Lord, how will you be able to lead others to this type of relationship?
• Serve in your local church! You need to have a heart for all lost people, and if you aren’t serving here, it will be difficult to start serving on the mission field.
• Use Operation World to pray for the world. Along the way, you will learn more about other countries, as well as the work that is being done there. God may use this practice to develop a heart for a specific people group to work with in the future.
• Take some short-term mission trips.
• Join your church’s mission team.
• Visit with missionaries and their kids on furlough, and learn from their wisdom and experience.
• Spend time with international students.
• Get serious about language learning, it could give you the tools you need to learn additional languages in the future.
• Look into Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) courses.
• If you have the opportunity, take Perspectives on the World Christian Movement at a local church or Christian University in your area. (Some secular colleges offer it as well). Their Web site is: http://www.perspectives.org/
• Attend the National Missionary Convention as often as possible. Their Web site is: http://www.nmc-windows.org/nmc/home
• Continue to develop skills in areas you are interested in, such as filmmaking, computers, medicine, etc. Oftentimes, it is these “other” skills that allow Christian workers into countries to work (especially countries in the 10/40 window).
• Don’t go into debt! Live a simple life style.

In Conclusion:

While Jesus was here on earth, He alone could have reached the world with His message of salvation. Instead, He focused on discipling twelve men who went on to change the world. Jesus chose to involve us, just like His original disciples, in bringing the people of the world to Him. We are first called to go, but those who stay must send. We must have the will of God as our first priority, and usher in His second coming by taking the Gospel to all the people of the world.