After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. (Luke 10:1-2)
Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.
There are countless lost souls in this troubled world. We tend to think of foreign countries as ‘mission fields’ forgetting the vast number of people in our own midst who need to hear the Gospel. In many ways it is easier to reach out to people who are separated by geographical and ethnic distance than it is to reach out to our immediate neighbors – who are not much different than us. It is more palatable to think of lost souls being far away and different from us than to look in the mirror.
Pew Research determined that mainline Christianity declined in the United States (-7.8%) between 2007 and 2014, while those identifying themselves as “atheist, agnostic, or nothing-in-particular” increased (+6.7%). Our mission field is both growing and getting closer.
Different ‘field workers’ work the many varied fields. Just as no farmer would harvest tomatoes with a large combiner designed for soy beans, missionaries also have various gifts for the many varied circumstances of lost souls. God has gifted all His people in ways that He uses to extend His Kingdom. It is not easy work and more often than not the ‘missionaries’ that plant the seed are not privileged to see the harvest.
On the 17th some of our youth will share how God’s Word gets planted (&/or tilled, weeded, fertilized) at camp. Campers hear the Gospel in a slightly different way in a different context from different people. Ideally this helps solidify their faith and encourages them to reach out to others, including their home congregations, in new ways. It also broadens their understanding of the larger church. Like all forms of mission, Bible camp not only evangelizes, but also energizes people for the sake mission.
We have the same mission. We are one in mission – – to work together to gather all of God’s people into Christ. We are all missionaries, working together to plant the seed of God’s Word & harvest people back into His Kingdom.
The grace and peace of God which surpass all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the crucified and risen Christ Jesus through all the seasons of the year and your life. Amen.
In Christ,
Pastor Carla
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt.28:19-20)
pastorcarla 