“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exist because worship doesn’t. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.”
-John Piper, Let the Nations be Glad, 1
Our Swift Creek Mission is to connect with God, connect with others, and connect others with God.
This is why we do missions. Missions is not an end in itself. As Piper said, it is not the goal. It is the way to the goal. It is a means to an end. The goal is that all people, everywhere, will be connected with God forever through the blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is our eternal connection with God that will be our worship of the Lamb forever. There is no greater pleasure for our souls in the universe.
It is for this reason that 10 teenagers and 3 adults will load up at 4 am this coming Saturday and head down to Atlanta for 5 days. We long to reach those in that city who do not know Jesus with the good news that Christ has come to give them a relationship with God forever.
Our trip is through World Changers Urban. They partner with local churches through the North American Mission Board and local active ministries in the heart of urban areas to bring others the good news of Christ. We will be on mission with Blueprint Church during these five days serving and having city camp to bring the gospel to unreached kids and teens in the city, prayerwalking, and serving a couple of the local downtown public schools in practical ways.
Every step of the way our team will have opportunities to have gospel conversations with others. Last year, we sent a team to Atlanta to work with refugee kids all week and had over 60 conversations about the gospel. One of our students led a little boy from Southeast Asia to Christ.
I am prayerfully expecting God to work powerfully among us and to give us even more opportunities this coming week. Our students have prepared their minds and hearts for this trip by meeting a set of predetermined expectations, memorizing mission-focused Bible verses, and being equipped on how to engage in effective gospel conversations with others.
Please commit to pray for us as we embark on our mission this upcoming week. Below are some ways you can pray specifically.
- Pray for opportunities to share Christ with others. As you pray for this, ask the Lord to prepare and open hearts of those who hear and receive the good news of Christ. They will only be saved by hearing the gospel (Rom 10:17).
- Pray for boldness and unity among our team. Phil 1:27 says that we should strive side-by-side for the sake of the gospel. Ask the Lord for this to be true of our team this week.
- Pray for our leaders: Brian Caish, Sara Davis, and myself. Ask the Lord to be gracious to us in areas of health, energy, strength, love, and wisdom so that we can lead our group effectively in Christ.
- Pray for our students. We have 8 guys and 2 girls going from our student ministry. Pray that they will be totally locked in and focused on the purpose of the trip. Ask the Lord to be gracious to give them wisdom, health, energy, selflessness, love for others, and a heart for missions.
When we return, I will give you an update on the fruit that was produced from the trip.
Thankful for you, church.
Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” – John 20:21