How Can I Create an Everyday Mission Field?
- Vivian Bricker Contributing Writer
- Published Apr 12, 2022
The Lord teaches much about the importance of taking the Gospel to people of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). The Great Commission passage is clear that we cannot be stagnant in sharing our faith. It is vitally important for us to create an everyday mission field.
Living on Mission
Sadly, not everyone will have a chance to go on a mission trip at some point in their life. I highly encourage you to go if you get a chance, although, I am aware that time and finances might not provide the opportunity for everyone. Even if you do not get to go on a mission trip or serve God in international missions, you can still serve God as a missionary in your everyday life. This is when you can create an everyday mission field. An everyday mission field is when you make the intentional decision to live on mission. This means that in everyday life, you make the effort to share Christ in your words and actions. Creating an everyday mission field means that you see your own community, neighborhood, and home as your mission field. An everyday mission field means you talk to your friends, family, and those in your community about the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
You do not have to travel overseas in order to help others accept Christ. You can help others know Christ through your everyday life. Extend Jesus’ love in your actions, words, and behavior each day. This should naturally come to you the more you love Christ and desire to serve Him. If we live each day with bitterness, anger, and hate in our hearts, we will not be able to display Christ to the lost world. When unbelievers see us with hate, bitterness, and anger in our words and actions, they will associate Jesus with our wrong actions. As Christians, we need to strive our best to present Christ in our daily lives.
When we create an everyday mission field, it is crucial that we extend Jesus’ love, mercy, and forgiveness in our actions. We should never judge someone else or make them feel inferior. Just as Jesus loved all people and extended mercy, so should we. Living on mission in our everyday mission field means we have to live each day as if we had indeed moved and were living in a different place with the purpose of building relationships, sharing Christ, and discipling believers. This can be hard at times, but God is faithful and He will strengthen you. The more you live each day as if you are on the mission field, the more joy will resonate through your bones. Despite not having relocated anywhere, you are still on the mission field in your hometown. Everywhere is a mission field where there are lost souls. You are making a difference by sharing Christ in your community.
Helping Others
A vital part of creating an everyday mission field is the aspect of helping others. Other people will know that we are Jesus’ followers if we extend His love and kindness (John 13:35). Helping others can be done by providing food, health services, and sharing the Gospel. The Lord is pleased when we help others. Hebrews 13:16 tells us, “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” If we see a person in our everyday mission field who is struggling, we should help them. It is not Christian to turn away from them. Proverbs 19:17 says, “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.” In the New Testament, we find the same teaching, “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?” (1 John 3:17).
As these Bible passages tell us, it is crucial that we help others on our everyday mission field. Ignoring the needs of others, whether that be physical, emotional, or spiritual, is wrong. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus teaches us the right way to live and help others (Luke 10:25-37). In the parable of the Good Samaritan, a man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was suddenly attacked by robbers. The man was badly injured and left to die on the road. While the man was lying on the ground, bloody and beaten, a priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan passed by. The priest and Levite ignored the man and kept going on their way. They did not bother to stop and help the injured man. Neither the priest nor the Levite even asked the man if he was okay. The Samaritan stopped, helped the man, bandaged up his wounds, and took him to stay at an inn, to which the Samaritan paid for all of the injured man’s expenses until he was fully well. The Lord commands us to follow the Samaritan’s example because he did what was right.
We should not overlook, ignore, or simply walk past those who are hurt and struggling. Instead, we should be like the Good Samaritan, who stops, helps the person, bandages their wounds, and takes them somewhere safe, pointing them to Christ's healing power.
Allowing the Holy Spirit to Lead
Creating an everyday mission field cannot be done apart from the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. The Holy Spirit is the One who enables us to bear good fruit for God (Galatians 5:22-23). Inside of us, sinful nature and the Holy Spirit are in constant friction with one another (Galatians 5:17). To create an everyday mission field, we have to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, not our sinful flesh. By default, it is easier to follow the sinful nature, but we have to actively go against the grain and yield to the Holy Spirit. If we are consistently turning a cold shoulder to the Holy Spirit and ignoring His conviction upon our lives, we will become calloused to Him.
As Christians, we need to make sure we never grow calloused to the conviction and leading of the Holy Spirit. It is crucial to allow the Holy Spirit to lead, direct, and guide us. If we are not walking in accordance with the Spirit, then we are walking in accordance with the sinful flesh. Paul tells us, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want” (Galatians 5:16-17). Creating an everyday mission means you have to allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in your daily life.
Living for God
1 Corinthians 10:31 urges us, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” In our daily life, we need to glorify God in everything we do. When we are doing everything for the glory of God, we have created an everyday mission field. When we remember that everything we do throughout the day needs to be to the glory of God, we will be able to extend Jesus’ love in in our thoughts, words, and actions. Since we are followers of Christ, we want to bring Him glory and honor. Creating an everyday mission field means that we have to live for God and seek to bring Him glory each day. This can sound like a daunting task, yet it does not have to be. By being active in prayer, active in reading the Bible, and meeting with other believers, we will be better equipped at living for God and bringing Him glory. It is a noble task to create an everyday mission field. It can be difficult at times, but it is always worth it to know that you are making a difference for Christ and fulfilling the Great Commission
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