There will be a link in this blog to my church, The Church at Brook Hills, in Birmingham, Alabama. I ask that you please go and listen to a few of the latest sermons that have been preached by the Senior Pastor, Dr. David Platt.
The Link: www.brookhills.org
As you can see the title of this blog is where does missions begin? It is a pretty simple question with an easier answer. Right in your own back door.
Missions is not something that is done by one individual going to a different country to share the Gospel... Missions is something that is to be done everyday by every follower of Christ. When we look at Matthew 28:18-20 (the Great Commission), the command in this small passage is NOT the word "Go"; but rather the command is "Make Disciple"!!! A better translation for this passage would be, "As you are going, make disciples..." Missions is making disciples for the glory of God.
You don't have to go to the small tribe in Africa or South America, or the underground house churches in the Middle East or Asia to be called a missionary. A missionary is anyone who shares the Gospel for the glory of God.
Pretty simple right? Of course. But as I sit in church Sunday after Sunday and listen to the message about missions and serving the Lord locally and around the world. It is simple to think about things and thinking about doing stuff, but it becomes harder when we start to act. We get on this "Spiritual High" about advancing the Gospel, but how do we feel the next day? "Goodbye spiritual high!!!" This is how I feel almost every Sunday. But I am TIRED of just the "spiritual high" I am ready to react and get out there and do something, do something to minister to the people of Pell City, Alabama.
I look at my own life and ask the question, what can I do right here in Pell City, Alabama to serve the Lord? Where would I even begin? In a few weeks, I will be boarding a plan heading to Stuttgart, Germany to serve the Lord in another context outside of my normal comfort zone. Right now, I do not really think it would be wise to start a ministry now, but the possibilities are still there doe me to be able to do something in the future. As I have brainstormed different options, I come back to one thing. A Small Group. Why not start a small group first and encourage them to minister to the people of Pell City? That way it is not just me going at it alone. This is the exact same idea I have for when I want to start my ministry in Germany. Start with a small group and then go from there.
This to is exactly what Jesus did!! He invested His life into the lives of 12 individuals and those 12 individuals then helped to turn the world upside down!!
So as I prepare to leave I will begin to write things down and when I am in Germany I will then still be looking for opportunities to minister to Pell City with a group of individuals by my side.
In Christ,
Tyler A. Bowman
