Joining God on Mission
Mark Hooper
Director of Recruiting and Training
Part of being called by God into cross-cultural mission is being aware of what God is already doing. God has always gone ahead of His people and prepared the way for them to arrive and bring honor to Him. He is already at work in some of the darkest and most unreached places and people on earth, both here at home and abroad.
In the Mediterranean region, God has been on the move for many years among Muslim background peoples. In the 2010s in North Africa, there was the Arab Spring where dissatisfaction with Islamic governments led to rebellion in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Yemen. This was fueled by autocratic regimes, corruption in government, and lack of economic growth, but it has also given Islamic worldview a black eye. David Garrison wrote a book about this dissatisfaction, titled “A Wind in the House of Islam.” This implies movement of the Holy Spirit, because “wind” and “spirit” are the same word in the Bible languages of Hebrew and Greek, and have the same root word (ruh) in Arabic. God is stirring the hearts of Muslims in unprecedented ways. More Muslims have come to faith in Christ in the last 25 years than in the previous 1,000 years. God is moving among Muslims.
In the region around the Bay of Bengal where most unreached peoples in the world reside, God is also moving. Disenchantment with the majority religions in the region, Hinduism and Buddhism, is on the rise. New generations of Hindus and Buddhists are questioning traditional beliefs and wondering aloud in social media and in public arenas whether the traditional gods and beliefs are relevant to the spiritual, communal, and physical needs they feel. I was recently asked by a young man in this region, “Does Jesus answer your prayers? I don’t feel like my god listens to me.” To be honest, the perceived foreignness of the traditional Western church does not attract these unreached people disenchanted with their traditional beliefs, but Jesus is attractive to them. He is loving, compassionate, powerful, and…Asian. God is moving in new ways among the Hindus and Buddhists like we have never seen before.
Movements of people to Christ (defined as 100 new churches or 1,000 new baptisms within 10 years) are happening in unlikely places like Iran, Laos, and Vietnam. God is up to something in areas that have long been strongholds of Satan and false religion. Most of what is happening is outside of the influence or work of Christian witnesses. The harvest is truly plentiful, but the workers are few (Luke 10:2). So, as you pray the prayer Jesus asked us to pray, might you also be part of the answer? What is God calling you to do to join Him?
How has God been preparing you to join Him? Maybe you are experienced in ministering to or have a heart for people in disequilibrium: people like refugees, immigrants, or settled people who are questioning the faith of their parents. God can use you in His harvest. Maybe you have a business skill to help the economically depressed see a way forward, or maybe you have a medical skill that can help those without access to proper medical care or instruction. God can use you in His harvest. Or maybe you can work remotely, while living a Christ-like life among unreached peoples. God can use you in His harvest.
What if you are an answer to the prayer Jesus taught his disciples to pray: asking God to raise up more workers for the harvest? Could you be an answer to that prayer?
Is God moving your heart into a direction or people that He is already stirring with His Holy Spirit? If so, pray. God hears you. God will open doors for you. You may also contact us at MRN to begin a conversation of discernment or fill out the GUIDE for discerning your call on our website. We would love to visit with you about what God is doing in you, through you, and around you. To learn more about how God is already at work, check out the MedRim Initiative and the Bengal Initiative on our website.