Does the UK really need to send missionaries oversees?

On the UK church scene, we are often proud to own the term "evangelical" like a badge of honour, and yet how does this relate to our day-to-day, month by month, year by year expression of our local church?

The term "evangelical" centres on the authority of the Bible and personal conversion through faith in Jesus Christ, and is a core term used by many of us in identification of who we are. If you delve into specific groups of churches which hold to the teaching of the Bible closely, it is evident that they may not place the word "evangelical" on the church door, but they are evangelical.

The growth of mature, Bible-teaching churches which proclaim a message of hope to congregations is something to give thanks to God for; we see across our land vibrant churches teaching truth in a day when truth is not taught, we see churches embracing worship and praise, we see churches developing home groups to deepen fellowship and understanding and we see activities which engage with our communities, with love and respect.

So far so good, much to be encouraged about and to give us that warm cosy feeling! Even if our church is growing slowly, we know we are doing what we can in these days. Our land is not a Christian land, and we stand strong continuing with faith. We pray that more would be saved in our land and trust God, knowing ultimately salvation is from Him alone.

Wait, hold on a minute!

What about that board in the corner of the church hall – you know, the one with those faded photos on, yes that one – with a map and pins and string, with pieces of paper overlapping with text. (I think one of those faces is not alive anymore, didn’t he go to glory five years ago?)

I may be being somewhat "crass" in my description of the church’s attitude to mission and certainly there are many mission boards which are vibrant, informative and the photos represent "alive and kicking" mission partners. Yet what about the church’s responsibility to the global gospel imperative? Let me briefly explain further on this issue.

What about mission?

Mission is a complex and multifaceted concept, which means often within the context of the Christian community, there are various tangents which distract the church from one of its primary tasks.

We know in our hearts as ordinary Christians that in the most basic sense the church's purpose is both a community which grows together, nurtures, cares, teaches and establishes believers in their faith and also a means by which God reaches out in love to the "sin sick" world by presenting the gospel message of forgiveness and salvation through the work of grace, evidenced in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and His resurrection.

Mission in its purest sense is the God-led proclamation of the gospel to the world.

In my own personal experience, my call to mission took place a long time ago. I was set apart by the church to engage in the global mission of God for many years; in the UK, in Europe and in SE Asia, my heart has been for those lost in the darkness of Islam and more recently for the refugee and asylum seeker. Recently I have taken on the role of CEO of Grace Baptist Mission yet still consider myself a missionary in its purest sense, sent by the church, set apart to reach the lost.

As the UK church faces so many challenges in our generation, as it adapts to an ever-changing local context, how do we respond to the mission of God on a global scale? If our church is seeing steady growth through conversions or Christians seeking good teaching, where does that leave us when looking beyond the border?

As our nation is becoming more diverse, with refugees living amongst us, we have so much opportunity to reach the nations. Surely this is our mission now, not primarily overseas.

If our church has strong relationship with a variety of mission agencies who work in other lands, we give financially to some good work in the mission field – is this not enough?

The challenge of Acts 13!

As I reflect on this mindset, my mind goes to the account in Acts chapter 13 where God calls out Paul and Barnabas to be His missionaries; the two most significant and important leaders in the church in Antioch are called away. (If I was one of the other leaders, I would not be that content that’s for sure!) Yet God had His sovereign hand over the situation and taught the church at Antioch how His church is global. (Note after the two return to Antioch, the words they use regarding the mission, "what God had done" – it was God’s mission, God’s work and God’s church.)

Here is the key point: the church which you will attend this coming Sunday is not your church, nor is it the leaders' church: it is God’s church, represented in the local community where it is. As such, the church God has placed in your location is therefore integral in the global gospel imperative, and, as well as engaging in its local community, has a broader remit of global mission.

The 'gospel global imperative': Threat, opportunity or responsibility?

As we lean into the reality of what the local church – your local church – can or should do in terms of global mission, I would like to frame the conversation around three statements about this imperative. Is global mission a threat, an opportunity or a responsibility?

First, a threat. Yes, in many ways if we focus on the needs of global mission and not on our own needs, it can be perceived as a threat to our gospel work locally. It’s true that those willing to serve in our own local church are limited, time available is limited and gifted members who can contribute to the wellbeing of our own evangelistic efforts are limited. We must prioritise ourselves first.

Yet if we take a step back and reflect again on Acts 13, we can quickly understand that the local church is not a separate entity from the global church in terms of God’s mission to save the lost. Surely we have a God who teaches us from His word to consider others before our own needs, consider the need of millions of lost souls in areas where there is no church, areas where there is no Scripture in their own language, areas where the training of leaders is so limited and areas where Christian love needs to be on display. Mission is not a threat to a local church when we praise a God who is all sufficient and above all things.

Second, an opportunity. "Yes, but we have that opportunity already," I hear you say. "The nations have come to us, refugees, international students and migrants."

Indeed, we are richly blessed in being able to connect with many nations in our own neighbourhoods, however, in reality – for everyone from a nation overseas – there are so often hundreds, if not thousands still in the homeland of that one individual who does not have the opportunity to hear the gospel or attend a church or be witnessed to and loved by a believer.

The opportunity is there globally to share the good news, and, in many ways, it is so much easier. To travel to other lands now is not a journey in a boat of many months, it is a flight of less than a day. Life expectancy for the overseas worker is not drastically reduced; the reality of social development and globalisation has addressed issues of medical care for the most part.

The opportunity is definitely there, though one has to acknowledge some restrictions in terms of freedom of religion in some lands. However, this can be worked through in creative ways.

Third and most challenging, responsibility. Does the UK church have a responsibility to engage in the global gospel imperative? Yes – in particular, by sending workers to lands overseas … Or are we now in a new paradigm where we just receive missionaries to serve in our land? While the latter is definitely true and a rich blessing, is the former just unrealistic?

Concluding thoughts

I would argue that the mission of God and His global gospel imperative for all nations is the responsibility of the UK church, as much as any nation's church.

In fact, the truth is that every local church, globally, should be actively engaged in the gospel mission of God across the world. If we narrow our view of God’s work through us, we narrow our trust in God. If we focus solely on our local church need and local outreach, we miss the blessings waiting for us as we seek to pray for new workers to be set apart to other lands and other nations.

The blessing to Abraham was given for him and all nations; the gospel of salvation is for all nations.

In a world torn apart by war, ecological disasters, pain and suffering, the need for the UK church to stand up and re-engage on the global gospel scene is as important now as it has always been.

Look beyond the border and you will see God working; He desires to have those who would obey His command to go!