Know a Missionary?

Want to have some fun and make a point which everyone at church will remember?

Ask the question: “Who knows a missionary, personally? Raise your hand if you know someone who is a missionary.”

After a few people raise their hands, encourage everyone to go home and look into a mirror. Do it with a smile. No need to be unkind!

Now that you have their attention, explain the word “missionary:”

The word “missionary,” even the word “mission” does not occur in the Bible. (That’s okay. Neither does the word “Trinity.”) But the concept does appear in the Bible.
The root word mission comes from the word “send” or “sent.”
When the Roman Catholic church translated the Bible, in the early centuries, they did a “missionary-minded thing.” They took the Old Testament Hebrew and the New Testament Greek, with a little Aramaic, and put it into the language of the people in the Roman Empire, Latin.
The Latin word for “send” is “missio.”
When the Latin was translated into English, it came out “send.”
But meanwhile, the people who were sent out to share Jesus with others were called “missionaries.”

In John 20:21, Jesus said to His disciples, “As the Father sent me (to this Earth), in the same way, I send you.”

Jesus said this to ALL His followers, not just those who traveled to other cultures or countries.
It’s a little awkward but we are really ‘sent” people.
We are “going” people – all Christians.
You know, like the Great Commission: “Go, make disciples” – we are “sent.”

How does it feel to become a missionary?

Does it make you nervous?

Is it too big of a deal to handle?

Look at the actual intent of the “Great Commission:”

What does this imply?

Make disciples is not limited to the church staff and to the pastors.
Everyone makes disciples, every day, wherever they go: barbershop, grocery store, school, restaurant, work, wherever.

Get that right, and you’ll start a revival!