MISSIONARY CALL — WHAT INSPIRES, INFORMS, & CONFIRMS IT

Drawing from Rev. Mack Stiles’ message at the 2013 Cross Student Missions Conference, here are the fundamentals of a missionary calling.

What it is & what it’s not

All Christians are called to participate in missions, but that does not make everyone a missionary. In Acts 13, only Paul and Barnabas from the Antioch Church were set apart and sent as missionaries.

People go to the mission field for all kinds of reasons: to discover their calling, travel the world, get a fresh start in life, etc. Some go to prove their love for God! All of them can feel strongly that they want to be overseas, but crossing the ocean or having a strong feeling does not make it a missionary call.

A missionary is someone whose purpose takes him or her across cultures to make disciples. Christians who happen to live and work cross-culturally but do not have a driving intent to make disciples are not missionaries. Conversely, professionals and businesspeople, who look nothing like a missionary but live cross-culturally to make disciples in their workplaces, are. We call them bi-vocational missionaries or tentmakers after Paul, who made tents and preached the gospel.

Missionaries are ordinary people. The missionary calling is not so lofty that unless God splits the sky to speak from heaven you have not been called. Christians can aspire to be a missionary. You can learn about missions and prepare yourself for missionary work. But the call is God’s initiative.

Often, we think of calling as what we do for God. But the Bible speaks more about a calling to God. When God calls, He chooses us for Himself. In the New Testament, there are 39 uses of the word “calling” for salvation (Acts 2:21), and 20 instances where God calls us to live for Him as Christ-followers, maturing in holiness and Christlikeness (2 Timothy 1:8-9, Galatians 5:13, Ephesians 4:1). Discipleship— a life called to Christ—is the prerequisite to any call.

In 1 Corinthians 1:26-29, Paul points to the fact that God did not call the wise, the powerful, or those of noble birth. Rather, He called the weak, the foolish, humble nobodies to show His sovereignty, wisdom, and power. The calling is not about us, whether we feel qualified or if we look the part. It is about God who calls. But it is up to us to respond by seeking confirmation and obeying every step of the way.

What inspires the call

If you feel called to be a missionary, feelings can be a starting point. But the inspiration should come from God’s Word. From the creation to the fall, from the redemption narrative to Christ’s return, Scripture shows us the missionary heart of God. God’s own Son left His home in heaven and entered our world at great cost to rescue a broken, sinful people for Himself and for His glory. Christ, the missionary God, inspires and summons us to join His mission.

What informs the call

The call of the would-be missionary is informed by the gospel itself. You are compelled by what is at stake in people’s lives. Without the Good News, people will perish eternally. Judgment will come, and hell is real. Compelled by the compassion of Christ, you choose to go to unfamiliar, even difficult places as His ambassador to the lost (2 Corinthians 5:11-20). You long for others to know the love of Christ that you have known so that He can do for them what He has done for you. Christ’s death makes you alive to God and calls you to live for others. So, you say yes to God’s missionary call.

Wherever the gospel goes, it not only saves souls but improves lives, bringing literacy, health, social and economic change to communities. The gospel is at the heart of everything the missionary does.

What confirms the call

Finally, the confirmation of the call is a personal one as well as a corporate one. It is personal for God will show you the who, what, when, where, and how of the calling. It is corporate too when the Body of Christ validates your love for the church, your Christian character and witness, your gifting and fruitfulness. When you are commissioned, the church sends you out with its blessing and support.