God’s Mission Around the World
When I read or hear the Great Commission from Matthew 28 there is a story from history I often remember. On September 2nd, 1945 Japan officially surrendered to the United States, thus ending one of the worst, if not the worst, wars our world has ever seen. In the aftermath, faith in their own gods was shaken for many of the Japanese. The Japanese sentiment was, “If the United States forced our emperor to surrender, then whoever the US worships must be greater.” This idea opened a massive mission field ready to be cultivated by followers of Christ. Sadly, that’s not what happened. Instead of sending many missionaries to teach the word, the Church sent few missionaries with thousands of bibles. With few people proclaiming the message of Christ to the Japanese, they looked for themselves at what the US seemed to worship and value most. The Japanese saw the technology the US used to defeat them, and the technological advancements that were quickly being applied to every day American life and concluded that their greatest need was technology. Modern Japan is synonymous with cutting edge technology, due in part to the missed opportunity by the American Church. I often wonder what Japan could have been today if American Christians had answered the call of Christ to “Go and make disciples…” in Japan.
Opportunities in Australia
So, why is this story important to me? Well, in the summer of 2018 my dad connected with a church and their mission work in Sydney, Australia. Life Church in Sydney is reaching communities with the gospel by teaching a Bible curriculum program in the government schools. Australia still allows volunteers from the Church to teach the Bible daily in the schools. Yet this tremendous opportunity is met with a tremendous problem. The Church in Sydney is small in comparison to the population. Therefore, the pool of potential volunteers is small. Add to that the high cost of living in Sydney and you find most of those willing to teach this Bible curriculum are unable due to work related demands. This shortage of volunteers, combined with a growing push to remove Bible teaching from the schools, has led the Australian Church to ask for missionaries to partner with them in teaching God’s Word in the schools.
My Call to Go
After learning about this opportunity and predicament, it reminded me of Japan in the 40’s. So, I began praying for God to send workers to teach His word. I prayed that Australia wouldn’t end up with a similar scenario to Japan years down the road. I prayed that we, in America, wouldn’t look back at this years from now saying, “I wish we would have done something.” One day while I was praying, I asked God if I should be one to go. I felt in my spirit the Lord leading me not just to pray for a solution, but to be part of the solution.
So today, I’m preparing to be part of the solution. I’m ready to go to Sydney, Australia for the sake of the Gospel of Christ. My mission there will be teaching the Bible to all ages of students in multiple schools throughout the week. I’ll also be part of the leadership team at Life Church serving with their youth ministry and touching the lives of the students involved in the church. I’m also setting a personal goal to share the love of Christ with everyone I encounter as I experience life in Sydney.
How Harbor Can Help
I’m grateful to Harbor Community Church for your prayerful and financial investment in me as I prepare for this mission. Your willingness to send me speaks volumes to who you are as a church. You prove that sending and supporting missionaries is not something a church does after it gets “big enough”, it’s something a church does in obedience to Christ’s command to make disciples.
I want to leave you with how to pray specifically. While my plan is to go in January 2021 for 6 months, it looks increasingly like that isn’t going to be a possibility. Australia recently had another outbreak of COVID-19.
The government has enforced new lockdowns, and shut down almost all travel in and out of the country. I don’t know what that means moving forward. My time there will probably be pushed to a later date and the length of my stay might be altered if I’m able to go at all. Through prayer, I have not felt the Spirit tell me to “throw in the towel.” I believe in a God who can make the impossible possible and who is able to do greater things than we can imagine. My plan is still to go early to mid-2021. So, pray with me for God to re-open the door to share His word in Australia. And pray for clarity on my decisions as I move forward in His work. Once again thank you Harbor Community Church for being a large and active partner with me in the work Christ is sending me to accomplish.