Thoughts on Missions

Yesterday we had a great blessing, Cory and Janice Lemke shared with us their lives and their passions as we heard about mission life and the life in the Ukraine. I am always amazed at how others throughout the world do church. All this week we heard about missionaries from Latin America, India, Africa, and Arizona and each and every mission had a new way of reaching out, a different way of sharing God's word.

With that thought in mind I got to thinking about how truly diverse God is. He doesn't do the same thing twice and their is never a list of "how to's" when it comes to structuring church or reaching out. Sure, we have principles from which we do things, like Acts 2:42 gives an example of how the believers had communion, prayed and listened to the apostle's teachings. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians we are to be all things to all people, to win some to Jesus. How that happens is fully up to you and me.

In the Ukraine there are no paid preachers. Messages are given by those who have been reading a ready in God's word. In Africa music is their heart beat and stories and verses are sang as worshippers jump around. No seats, no pews and people sit outside to worship. Is that kind of ministry better? Are we more holy? Are they?

I read about communion in the New Testament and it sounds like the early church didn't have a wafer, and a little cup. It sounds like their communion was a lot like a meal. So, are we doing it wrong? Of couse not. The purpose of communion is to remember what Jesus has done for us. The emblems matter not. The gathering of the church is to encourage believers to live out their faith. It's not about who speaks, who sings and how long it lasts. The question we must ask ourselves is: Are we being a church that is glorifying God?