STATE MISSIONS: The Mission of God
Charles Spurgeon once said, “Every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor.” What he meant was every Christian is to live on mission. To be missional means that a mission or organized church realizes it exists to join Jesus in God’s mission in the power of the Holy Spirit. In Matt. 16:18, Jesus said, “…upon this rock I will build my church.”
He has allowed us to be a part of what He is doing. John 20:21 is an even more personal charge or commission, “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” God is on a mission, and Jesus is the embodiment of that mission. In the gospel of John alone, Jesus identified himself as "sent” over 40 times.
What is God’s mission? God’s mission is to be glorified by making Himself known. In creation, everything was good, but man sinned, and the world became broken and lost. God, in His great mercy and love, sent His son Jesus to repair the brokenness. He came to do for the broken and lost humankind what man could not do for himself. God enjoyed fellowship with His creation in the garden and set in place the plan He put in motion before the beginning of time to regain that fellowship. God sent His Son, Jesus, to establish the kingdom, but how? Through the saving of people like you, me, our friends, coworkers, neighbors, any and all who will come to fill and build up the church. When a person is saved, sin and death are defeated. God has redeemed people who have been forgiven. God gets back what Satan stole through lies. It is from these redeemed people that God has chosen to serve the hurting. For God is both the sender and the sent. He has the keys to the kingdom. God sent His Holy Spirit to empower the church — to gather, scatter and work in and through it. Serving is the gospel demonstration of the glory of God!
What of the church? I used to think our church had to formulate a mission statement, only to realize the church does not have a mission. The church is sent on a mission by Jesus. It’s not that the church has a mission but rather that the mission (God’s mission) has a church. Thus, we join Jesus on His mission, for His church is on mission when they go everywhere proclaiming and demonstrating the majesty of the Father. The church is sent into the world — joining the mission of Christ, and the result is the church is an instrument of the kingdom. Through all this, God will be glorified, and the church will be redeemed for His glory. This is why the mission work of our association is of utmost importance. Thank you for giving.
From Our Missionaries
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “We are very excited about the opportunity the Lord gives us every Wednesday night at the ladies and youth meetings. Last week, 38 attended. Let us pray that God will use us to impact these people’s lives.
“Fernanda, Jose Carlos, and Marlon have started a podcast to reach young people for Christ. I encourage you to follow them on Instagram and YouTube. Their username is @adawpodcast (Another Day, Another Way). The dedication these young people have shown in serving the Lord and sharing the gospel on social media is truly inspiring. May God bless them and continue to use them in spreading the gospel to youth around the world. Let us pray for them that God will open doors and grant them favor with social media users.
“Sunday, we prayed for BMA Global’s efforts in the Middle East, following the prayer guide for World Missions Day. God bless our beloved Charlie Costa and his entire team — Elie and Rana Costa El-Hage, Sam and Suzan Jordan, Yazan Melkonian in Jordan; Joe and Mira Costa, and Yousef Hilal in Lebanon; Atef Labib Yousef and Gentleman Nabil in Egypt; Maher Semaan in Syria. We give glory to God for the lives of His servants.”
Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “January is over, and our task of praying, blessing and sharing in the homes that opened their doors was accomplished. I remember very well the first year we started praying for only two homes, and this year, we had 10.
In each home, we prayed for the man of the family as the leader of the home so that they, in turn, would pray for their family. In the home that does not have a male leader, we then pray for the sister and her family.
“Last Sunday was our third workshop session on ‘Gospel Movement,’ and everyone is working on their Oikos map — analyzing and praying for the people around them. As a fruit of the workshop on Sunday, we were visited by Pablo Rumbos from Venezuela. He works at UAMS in the cleaning department and will ask his supervisor to allow him to be free on Sunday so he can attend Ebenezer. Every time we have given the workshop, the brothers retake the commitment to pray and connect with the lost world to share the gospel. Thank you for praying for Ebenezer. Please pray for Pablo so we can see him join us.
“Thank you for your support and prayers. To God be the glory!”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “We had another great week at Faith Chapel! We had some out sick, and others were traveling, but we still had a good number and a great time of worship with five first-time and several faithful visitors. For the second consecutive week, the Lord added to our number with two of our faithful visitors joining us.
One of them has two beautiful kids who love it here and fit right in with the other children. Praise God! The Lord has been blessing us richly! So much so that we are already expanding our parking lot on the west side, which is a good problem to have.
“We are finally making progress on the classroom additions after some slow time over the holidays. The electrical and HVAC work is being done, and we will be ready for insulation. The contractor is lined up and ready when we are. Praise God again.
“And just as work is picking back up, it feels like I have yet another opportunity to trust in the Lord even more. Last week, I had an MRI, and it revealed a tear in the rotator cuff of my right shoulder. I will be seeing the surgeon today to discuss treatment. Please pray for me. It is extremely painful and debilitating when I try to use it, but as I mentioned, I will trust in the Lord.
“Thank you all again for all your prayers and support! We love you all so much and pray God's blessings for you!”
Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes, “This week started rough, like a ‘Charlie Brown’ kind of day when everything seemed to go wrong. However, by Tuesday, God heard our prayers and reassured us that He is still present and faithful, even on our hardest days. He is still our God, and we are still His children.
“This week’s lesson at Faith Journey focused on the assurance of our salvation and on helping others who are struggling with those doubts. We studied I John 5 and discussed the characteristics of a person who has experienced genuine heart change and repentance for their sin. As believers in Christ, we are assured that He has given us the gift of eternal life and the peace of mind that His grace is sufficient for us as believers.
“Please continue to pray for those missing from our Faith Journey family group due to illness and traveling. We also have several out at our small group nursing home ministry — particularly with COVID and the flu — impacting our attendance by over half who regularly attend.”
Misión Gracia Soberana (Sovereign Grace), NWA:Roberto Marcelletti writes, “My family has had a complicated week. I had to take my wife to the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with pneumonia. She is resting at home now.
This has motivated the brethren to pray more, and a positive aspect of this is that on Wednesday, we came together to pray as a church. On Saturday, we also had a time of prayer during our congregational devotional. I additionally met with Franklin, a man I am training to serve alongside us in the church.
“On Sunday, I spoke with a woman named Rosemary, who is visiting us for the second time. As a child, she attended church, and her father was the pastor. However, she confided, ‘My father didn’t behave well; he abandoned us, and I never returned to church. Now, with kids of my own, I worry that they don’t know God. So this week, I did something I hadn’t done in years: I knelt down and cried out to the Lord. I need a church, and the Lord brought me here.’ The things that God is doing in people are beautiful.”
Epic Life, Pea Ridge: Jake McCandless writes, “This week was disappointing. Our groups had great momentum. I had been working closely with leaders and was excited about what was ahead. We were going to have a student gathering. Instead, we had no gatherings this week due to sickness.
Both host families ended up with the flu, and I'm writing with the flu, concerned about what that means for this week. I can't forget the Lord is at work.
“A bright note is that our new worship leader, Marty, and his wife, Denise, are beginning efforts to launch a group out of their home. I'm excited to see what lies ahead there! Continue to pray for our Missionary Coach Families.”
El Faro #2 Hispanic Mission, Cabot/Jacksonville: Michael Hight writes, “We had another good week and made several new contacts. This is a time of great anxiety within the Hispanic community. There are so many rumors floating around that everyone is nervous. Both documented and undocumented!
“Please pray we will have wisdom navigating this obstacle. Thank you for all your prayers and support.”
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Paul White
Arkansas State Missions Director Paul White pens a weekly column to inform the BMA of Arkansas concerning Arkansas Missions’ activity and includes individual reports from each church planter.
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