Churches can have a missions ministry, but to be missional, to be on mission is to be obedient to the call of Jesus to go and make disciples. Whether that be across the street or on the other side of the world. When we really started organizing the mission trips to have family trips, look, some of the places we go is really not good for families, but you can find places to take the family.
And what a great bonding, not only for our church members on mission trip, but also for families. Beth and I went to Uganda in 1998, then we developed a relationship with those pastors and kept going back. And our mode of operation, I guess, would be to train pastors in the morning, and then we would take those pastors and go to a village where they wanted to plant a new church. Do hut to hut evangelism, conclude the afternoon with a service out in the open, and preach the gospel.
And the way they do it over there, they give the invitation to come to Christ, and wait for the first person to either stand up or to come forward. And when that first person stands to come forward, they look at that person as the one who opens the door. And that’s when they start singing, because they say, we’re joining in with the angels now. One has come to the Lord.
We want to develop relationships with the people there. We’re not just going and dumping on them everything that we think they need. No, we’re going, and it’s a mutual relationship.
We came back with that vision of indigenous missionaries, supporting indigenous missionaries developed the guideline that if we go, it’s for the purpose of going back. We want to develop relationships with the people there. We’re not just going and dumping on them everything that we think they need. No, we’re going, and it’s a mutual relationship. We wanted every missionary from this church to be sent and supported, and we made a big deal that they would come down before they went for prayer.
The whole church knew they were going, what the deal was. And when they came back, we let them share the testimonies about what happened so the whole church could share.
First Baptist Boerne, Beth and I love you more than you can imagine, because being a member here with you changed us as we saw God’s missionary heart flourish in this congregation. And none of us have gotten over it. And we pray that we never will.
So thank you for being the people of God in this place, sharing the love of God all over the world. Let’s keep doing it for the glory of God.
