Recently we spent 4 days in Juarez, Mexico building homes for two families. Below is part four of a four part series describing just a few things I learned while our team was on mission. Click here for Part One: The Local Church. Click here for Part Two: The Body of Christ. And click here for Part Three: The Culture.
John Piper once famously wrote, “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exist because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate.” The purpose for short term mission trips should always be about the Church bringing glory to God by simply doing what He says and sharing the hope of Jesus with others. So, was God glorified in Juarez? Did we do what He asked us to do? Did we worship Him in service, unity and love? Did we worship Him by sharing the hope of Jesus with others?
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.–Colossians 3:17.
The keyword in this verse is whatever. If you read all of Colossians 3, you see the Word of God instructing us to do things like forgive each other (v. 13), clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility and patience (v. 12) and to put on love (v. 14). You also see the Word of God cautioning us against things like sexual immorality, lust, greed, anger, rage, malice, filthy language and division (v. 5-11). In case Paul (the author of Colossians) missed something, he reminds us in verse 17 to do whatever we do…everything in the name of the Lord Jesus. Was God glorified by these 50 or so Americans working together with 20 or so Mexicans on this short term mission trip? Did we do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus? I will try to say this as loudly as I can, as forcefully as I can and as authoritatively as I can. YES!
Our van ride down to Juarez was not only peaceful, but one of the highlights of the trip. Not only were we allowed to see God’s goodness and majesty displayed in his creation throughout Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Juarez, but we were able to enjoy each others company along the way. God was certainly glorified by the unity displayed on this trip. We travelled to the glory of God.
When we arrived, things just kind of clicked. We had groups building walls while another group was smoothing concrete. We had groups cutting boards while another group cut chicken wire. We had groups adding stucco on the outside while another was adding sheetrock on the inside. It was a well oiled machine, with each individual team member playing a strategic role. We built to the glory of God.
We partook in the Lord’s Supper together, reminding us of the great sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf. We opened the Word of God every night and allowed God to lead us through the Scriptures, revealing his will for us. Every morning we were lead in devotional thoughts by our Casas missionaries. Multiple times throughout the day we prayed as a group. And for many of us, we prayed individually all throughout the day. We worshipped Jesus together, we shared our thoughts together and we shared our testimonies together. We grew spiritually to the glory of God.
We shared the hope of Jesus with others. The Gospel was preached by deed and by word. We passed out Spanish tracts to dozens of children and adults. We demonstrated Christ’s love and we shared Christ’s love. We shared the Gospel to the glory of God.
That’s not to say we were perfect. Many of us had moments of anger and frustration. We had flashes of sinfulness and selfishness. We failed to always do everything to the glory of God. But we didn’t live in our failure. I saw repentance where it was needed, calmness brought to the chaos and selflessness replace selfishness. I saw people respond to the call of repentance, right their wrongs and in that, I saw the church bring glory to God.
Being on mission is challenging work. It is a physically exhausting work. It is mentally exhausting work. It is a spiritual exhausting work. It is a sacrificial work. But it is a work we do because God has called us to do it. We live out on mission, because God has chosen to use us, broken as we are, to bring Him glory.
If you ever have an opportunity to pour yourself out on a mission trip, I would encourage you to do it. Take the step. Pour yourself out and watch as Jesus fills you back up.
All for His Glory.