I fear in many ways we have taken missions away from home and made it a thing we emphasize people do 'out there' rather than 'right here'.
This then leads to churched teenagers, when asked if they desire to be a missionary to have a recoil and they say things like: "I don't want to live in the jungles" or "I don't think I could deal without clean running water". This to me is a bit sad because Christ's "Last Words" if you will were for all of us to go and make disciples.
He says in Matthew 28:18-20 "And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
This is a calling that every person who has been saved by Christ has. It's not a thing just for those who go overseas. We are called to live Missions focused lives, we are called to spread the gospel with our very lives and we are called to serve.
As Youth Pastors/leaders we need to be about both and in missions. We need to be about the 'out there's' and the 'right here's' when it comes to missions. Teens are so trained with sharing their faith 'out there' that they become inoculated and dumb when it comes to sharing their faith 'right here'. That's a sad testament to what we have been teaching.
The church at which I am a pastor is passionate about the both and of missions. My denomination started as a missions movement, so over seas missions is in our blood...but the church I am a part of also loves the city its in: Pittsburgh, PA! We are passionate about our community and realize it needs a ton of help. This passion for our community has leaked into Student Ministries and has infected us with a passionate desire to promote both and missions to our teens.
Just a couple of weeks ago we did a service project on our church campus and in the government housing across the street. We picked up trash, hauled metal, threw away broken up dry-wall, planted flowers, fixed up a local field and planted grass all while the community watched. Several people talked to our teens and asked what they were doing and why, they were encouraged to see young people caring for their community and we were inspired as well by their encouragement!
Last Saturday our teens engaged in a community project called Pumpkin Fest. In this event, we the church buy, make and distribute food. We sell it at a low cost but we work our tails off getting it all ready and then serving it. Our teens served over 1,400 people and had a joyful time doing it. The cool thing about this event is that the WHOLE community sees our teens serving and smiling and handing out food. They (the people in the community) get to work face-to-face with our teens and see that these kids are different. Also, with the proceeds of the event the community gets half and the other half goes to our summer missions trips (which are to different places). It serves the dual purpose of both and missions!
We, during the year do several other community service days to remind our teens that when it comes to missions it can happen overseas, in the next city or in your own back yard!
What are some other ways we can promote the both and missions? How can we start making teens think globally but act locally? The changes we make should change the DNA of our groups and the thinking of our teens. Nothing is more powerful a witness to a community than teenagers working hard to make that community better for the Glory of Jesus. It shocks the system of many people and encourages others to take notice and ask questions.
How can we as Youth Pastors/Leaders step up and change the way we've done missions and become missional minded people? Remember, the way this generation thinks about missions will be how they act as adults...so its more than the "now" we're effecting...we're effecting tomorrow too!
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