missions

what do you think of when you hear the word "missions"? i'm guessing that 95% of you think "overseas" or "outside of the US". am i right? rethink that word for a moment and see if your perception changes... ... yes?... no?...

the Lord calls each and every one of us to fight and work and serve in a mission field. yet, too often do we think that our "mission field" has to be somewhere hundreds and thousands of miles away. wrong.

matthew 28:19-20 says, "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." right away we hear "nations" and think far away. we are reading this wrong... "go and make disciples of all nations..."... all nations. the new century version says: "go and make followers of all the people in the world" and the message says: "go out and train everyone you meet, far and near..." it doesn't say, "go and make disciples of people outside of the united states"...

it is so important that we understand that we are living in a mission field right here in the united states. right in lake forest there are people who need to be reached. right in des moines are there people desperate for life. right here in our own backyards. right here.

don't get me wrong... going overseas is awesome. in fact, i'm leaving for romania here in 2 days to do mission work. i must remember though, i still do have a mission field to serve right here in des moines.

the Father, i believe, does in fact call us all to different areas to minister. wherever you are currently living is your first key ministry area. we cannot continue living in our towns, sitting and just hoping that lives are going to change without helping to make that change happen. we must step into this field and work. secondly, the Lord may in fact put another place on your heart to serve in and fight for. i have a friend who has a huge heart for spain... awesome. i personally do not have a heart for that country and thats okay. God's asked me to be one of the people to cover the fight in romania.

each nation will be covered. God makes sure of that. if we were all supposed to have a heart for japan, then who would be fighting over in brazil? in cuba? in iceland?

besides where you are living right now, look to see if the Father is calling you to help cover another "nation" (a US city, state, foreign country). He might be, He might not be. but wherever He is calling you, go there. pray for that place. fight for those people. serve. a person whose heart breaks for san jose, california is just as cool, and does the same cool things as someone who has a heart for greece.

look to Jesus... where is your mission field?