Written by Nicole Parks
1 - Pray for the Nations
Every follower of Jesus should join in asking the God of the harvest to send more workers. (Matthew 9:37-38, Luke 10:2) We can all intercede on behalf of those who have not yet heard the Good News. For more information on unreached people groups around the world, visit JoshuaProject.net or TheTravelingTeam.org. You can also sign up to receive daily devotional emails with different unreached people groups (UPG’s) at GlobalPrayerDigest.org.
2 - Go to the Nations
There are innumerable opportunities to go to the nations and put name and faces to the statistics. Start with a short-term trip through your church. Pray about whether or not God might be asking you to serve abroad in some capacity. If you’ve been on a short-term trip and feel ready to take the next steps, visit Cafe1040.com for more information on an overseas mentorship or getting connected with a sending agency for more long-term work.
3 - Send to the Nations
Not everybody can go and not everybody wants to go. By financially supporting those who go, you can be an active and essential part of God’s global plan. Find a missionary that shares your heart for a certain location or people group and join their support team. Ask your church how you can financially support short- and long –term missions at your home church. You can also partner financially with organizations that work solely on brining the Gospel to the unreached.
4 - Welcome Internationals
You do not have to go overseas to find the nations. God brings the nations to us through international students, workers, refugees, and immigrants. It is estimated that there are over 886,000 international students in the U.S. and 80% of them will return home without every having been invited into an American home. Whether you live in a big city, small town, or college town, look for opportunities to welcome internationals and to be the hands and feet of Jesus right in your own backyard.
5 - Mobilize to the Nations
In the English language, the word ‘mobilize’ is primarily used in the context of the military. It refers to the logistics of moving assets, supplies, and weapons to wherever the need is greatest. Mobilizing in the context of missions is helping people see the need for missions, understand God’s heart for the nations, and get the resources and the people to the place of greatest need: the unreached. You can do this by sharing with others what you learned in this study, encouraging others to do this study, and helping people see the importance of global missions. For more ideas and resources on mobilization, visit mobilization.org.
This post originally appeared in For God So Loved, A Seven Part Study on God’s Heart For The World
