bits from bob....

Missions is not an isolated subject to study, nor a task to do in the local church when all of the other tasks have been completed and the church is ready for a new challenge. Missions is an attitude and an exciting, challenging way of looking at the world. Christianity influences every aspect of our lives, and so the heart of God, broken as he views a lost world, completely changes our outlook (world view or view of the world) and our priorities.
We must ask ourselves three questions. How do we see the world? Why do we see it the way we do? What are we not seeing?

How do you see the world?

• Do you see the world immediately around the church building, or the "world" of our local communities and own nation as more valuable than the world "out there"?
• Do you see the world as a place to find help and numerical strength for the local church, or as a place the church is called to help?
• Do you see spending funds for local evangelistic outreach and domestic mission work as higher priorities than spending funds for mission outreach across the seas in other nations?

Why do we see what we see?

• We see what we see through the lens of self-needs.
• We have become accustomed to thinking about the church as an institution or organization to be supported more than as people touching people.
• We think that if people are won to Christ from the local community, then the church will be built up and will become stronger numerically.

What are we not seeing?

• We may not be seeing the tremendous receptivity to the gospel in foreign nations.
• We may not be seeing the tremendous cultural and societal challenges to Christianity in our own neighborhoods, cities, and nation-challenges which result in lowered receptivity.
• We may not realize that In many foreign countries, the gospel is getting in on the ground floor as Catholicism and centuries of religious traditions are being cast aside.
• We may not be seeing that effective mission work in some key areas of the world today could reap benefits in coming years far beyond what can occur if we delay.