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"You must go out to the whole world and proclaim,
the gospel to every creature." Mark 16:15.
Christians have the task of exporting their religion. This
is an imperative of Christ, not a you may be you must. Christians
have often disobeyed Christ and ignored their responsibility
to preach the gospel; to spread His influence throughout the
world. The history of the church tells us of long periods
of inertia when believers were concerned in the practice of
religion for themselves regardless of the needs of others
missionary enterprise, an enthusiasm of the early church,
spent itself in a few centuries.
Thereafter it became a thing of fits and starts, personalities,
programmes and periods. Mission was not seen as a matter of
continuous concern, not generally recognised that the church
most export or die.
Fortunately, there were always those Christians in every
age who committed their lives to the spread of the gospel,
and our indebtedness is to them for we received it from them.
Church history features many well known characters, men and
women, who were used of God to enable the church to grow and
make its impact everywhere in the world. The missionaries
were sometimes people of extraordinary mental and physical
strength, courage and ability, so committed to Christ that
no danger dissuaded them. They are named when attempts are
made to encourage Christians to accept their responsibility
to bring others to faith in Christ.
The lives of the great missionaries remind us that while
they valued and enjoyed their work and loved those whom they
came to serve, it was often tedious, wearisome and frustrating.
In spite of whatever befell them they made a huge contribution
to the growth of the church and to the life, liberty and happiness
of very many people.
These were the Paul-like figures of missionary activity.
Leaders who had the support of the many who lived and taught
their faith in winning ways; in character and conduct which
affected the thinking of those who did not know Christ so
that they thought seriously on what they saw and heard from
them.
There are always the "ordinary" Christians who
add to their number by convincing people of the truth of the
gospel by the testimony of their lives.
While the methods of mission are in essence the same the
changes to life in this secular age requires the use of every
modern means of communication to reach people with the Christian
faith.
The old methods are still in use but the new ones are an
advantage in a time of incredible growth in technical and
mechanical aids in most subjects and not least in religion.
The benefits of new methods is not to be doubted, but there
is a danger that the age old ways of personal contact will
be devalued by a concentration on contact by machine, no longer
nearness but distance. Church growth, whatever the circumstances,
needs the personal touch. It may be that one of the reasons
for the decline in the influence of the church is because
people are estranged from it through lack of contact with
church people.
Pastoral visitation, which was seen as integral to Christian
witness and fellowship, appears to be devalued by some pastors
and people nowadays. It is an axiom that "when people
do not go to church the church goes to them."
The situation of the church is not an easy one in this highly
secularised age but there is no let off in mission for without
growth the church has no future.
What is remarkable in Christianity today is the constantly
increasing strength in so many parts of the world when it
is weakening in European countries. It is because the sense
of mission is strong in the one and weak in the other?
Mission remains a going out and away for some to preach the
gospel and to serve people in their needs spiritual, mental
and physical; and the giving out of all others to enable that
work to be done.
Mission is preaching, teaching, nursing, healing and helping
people to learn skills and to use materials and methods that
enable them to feed, clothe and house themselves in places
where knowledge and ability can greatly better their lives.
There are always the victims of war and natural disasters;
the urgent appeals from the sick and suffering, the hungry
and homeless. So that the task of mission is massive and the
demands on Christians endless. But however huge the task the
response has to be to help in every way possible to alleviate
the suffering and distress of people in need of what we can
give them.
We are left with the unhappy thought that whatever is done
it is never enough in a world hurting from the evils of base
humanity; the imbalances, luxury and poverty; rapacious individuals
and societies; the criminality of dictators and the utter
helplessness of suffering humanity. Without God and the selflessness
of His people what an even more horrific world it would be!
Rev. Canon Dr. S.E. Long
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