Serving as Senders | Missions Blog Template

Serving as Senders

The apostle Paul said in Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved.” There are still many in the world who have never heard a clear, true,
simple presentation of the gospel. In verse 14 he said, “how shall they believe in him of whom they have not
heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” Jesus said “the harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers
are few” (Matthew 9:37). The cry rings true that we need more missionaries but Paul didn’t end there. He went
on to say in Romans 10:15, “and how shall they preach except they be sent?” In mission work there are two
levels of involvement: those who go and those who send. Mission work is the heartbeat of God, and we should
excel at being senders. Sending out missionaries is one of the most important tasks that churches have, and we
should do it to the best of our ability, in the Lord, in order to carry out the commission He has left us to fulfill.
There is more to sending out a missionary than voting unanimously, sending some money and saying good-
bye. Missionaries need our moral support, logistics support, financial support, prayer support, communication
support and even reentry support. The theme of this edition of the Missions News & Views is “Serving as Send-
ers.” The writers in this edition have served as pastors, missionaries or been on both sides. Bro. Micah Carter
covers the early stages of feeling the burden, now what? He also gives his experience of leading a church into
sending out their first missionary. Bro. John Strader displays the “Struggles of a Missionary.” He breaks that
down into four different categories and shares some personal stories of their time in Africa. Bro. Eric Sutton
leads his church to be a friend to missionaries and encourages us to do the same. Bro. Chase Reynolds covers
how they thrived in Indonesia because of the support they were given back home. No matter which role you
have in a church, get involved and get close to missionaries. Pray for them, be a friend to them, be their cheer-
leader and ask God to show you how you can support them and how you can be a blessing to them.
Lastly, there is a section in this edition entitled “Remembering Bro. Roger.” You will hear from some of our
missionaries on the kind of man he was, what he meant to them and the mark he left on their lives. He truly was
a spiritual giant who left a legacy and huge shoes to fill. He was very special to me and I miss him very much. I
will share one short story to show the kind of heart he had. The missions office receives all types of emails. One
day he received an email from a lady who lived in DeKalb, the city where I pastor. She had cancer and needed a
ramp to get her wheelchair in and out of the house. She thought the missions office helped with “missions” like
that. He could have easily let that go but he called me to see if I knew her and to inform me so that we could
possibly help. I got in touch with her and some of our men built that ramp. This led to calls and visits where I
talked to her about eternity and salvation. She was a self-proclaimed atheist but through our relationship, God
softened her heart and she accepted Christ! She did not live much longer after that and I had the privilege of
sharing the gospel at her graveside. Although they never met on this earth, I believe they are acquainted now
in heaven, and oh the time they are having! I’m thankful he did not let that go. He had a heart for people and a
desire to serve and help in any way possible. He ran his course well and God took him home. I long to see him
again and spend eternity with him!