A Missional Church

Micah 6: 8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Last week, I attended a special mission conference at Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia. It was the inaugural meeting of the Presbyterian Global Fellowship, whose primary focus is to support missions and missionaries both at home and abroad.

The conference was amazing and the worship was wonderful. I came away feeling inspired and refreshed, invigorated and excited about mission work in our churches. The PC(USA) is currently going through some tough times and radical changes. New organizations like the PGF are going to become the anchors and source of strength that we will need in years to come.

The official theme of the conference was “Glorify Your Name”, emphasizing that all the work that we do ultimately is accomplished to glorify God and expand His Kingdom. This was a consistent message that the keynote speakers and missionaries expressed during each plenary session and workshops. It was humbling to listen to those who have spent most of their lives giving of themselves to help others in places like China, India, and Africa. It was also immensely challenging to hear how Christians in those places where persecution, disease, and corruption are so prevalent still manage to confront evil and boldly witness to Christ’s power in their lives.

We are all missionaries in the church. God gives each of us a mission field to walk in every day. There are people in our workplaces, schools and homes who desperately need to hear the good news about Christ’s forgiveness and love. We don’t need to preach to them directly – we just have to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly before God. Those qualities preach more effectively than thousands of sermons. Those attributes move more hearts nearer to God than pushing and pulling people to Him.

Prayer: Loving God, we want to be missionaries of Your Word and servants of Your Kingdom. We want to draw more people to You and show them the way to salvation. Help us to be humble, just and loving to those around us. Let the mercy, grace and peace of Christ be made known through our words and deeds. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.