This past week, we enjoyed Missions Conference at Colonial, and I thought I'd share a few nuggets that I gleaned. 

(1) I'm thankful to be a part of a missional church.

First, as we planned for the Missions Conference, it was decided that we would host fewer missionaries, in order to be able to involve them more fully, get to know them more personally, and treat them more generously.  Prior to the conference, the missionary families had been emailed in order to gather information regarding their needs.  Throughout the week, our church family had the privilege of meeting those needs and presenting a different missionary family in each service with the "surprise" of certain gifts that would really be a asset to them.  It was a thrill to be an encouragement to them in this way and to demonstrate our loving commitment to co-laborers that we don't often get to see!

Second, our Missions Conference ended on Sunday night with the recommitting of our faith-promise missions giving for the next year.  Last year, the church family had promised a generous amount and had exceeded that by year's end.  This year, the commitments were even greater than last year, and by God's grace in the faithfulness of His people's giving, Colonial will be able to contribute financially to missionaries and missions projects in greater ways than before.  In the past, Colonial has been able to enjoy ministering financially to a work in Myanmar, and we were able to hear in detail this past week how the Lord has used our gifts in that mission field.  With the faith-promise commitments of the upcoming year, we hope to continue to store up eternal treasure by partnering in the gospel with those brothers and sisters across the ocean whom we have never met but with whom we can have a substantial and Christ-exalting impact through our finances (cf. II Corinthians 8).  What a true joy to see the grace of giving in the church family, as it takes what God has entrusted to it and willingly gives it right back to Him in gospel missions! 

Third, last summer our church sent a medical missions team to Panama, and the Lord richly blessed their ministry (i.e., they treated over 600 patients and witnessed over 300 professions of faith in Christ in three days).  This summer, we will be sending another team to different area in Panama to engage in the same kind of ministry.  Last week, the team introduced themselves and shared their vision for this summer, and it was an honor to recognize our church's commitment to do more than just pray for and give to missions, but to actually do missions.  God has purposely blessed Colonial with many medical personnel, so these medical mission trips are a wise usage of these entrusted talents.  However, I hope in the future that Colonial will be able to offer summer missions trips for non-medical people, so that we can continue to reinforce here our individual need to fulfill the Great Commission in a hands-on manner.

(2) I was challenged to maintain a missional lifestyle and ministry.

First, Nathan Deatrick, a church-planter in Columbus, NC, brought a missionary sermon one evening on the life of Isaac McCoy.  I had never heard anything like it, but I was greatly convicted by this man's example of faith-living.  This 18th Century pastor understood that we are "strangers and exiles on the earth" (Hebrews 11:13), and he lived and ministered by faith in the unseen as the utmost and eternal reality (cf. Hebrews 10:32-11:40).  I was humbled to recognize again that in my struggles on earth, "[I] have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in [my] striving against sin" (Hebrews 12:4).  Thank You, Jesus, that you did!  And, thank You for the example of those who have gone on before who model for us what it means in the modern day to "desire a better country…a heavenly one" (Hebrews 11:16).  If you'd like to hear this powerful challenge for yourself, you can do so here.

Second, Josh Hedges, a missionary to Chad, Africa, shared a unique challenge during our International Dinner.  He shared the hypothetical story of a believing businessman whose business trips frequently took him to that country, where he got to know some of the missionaries there.  Over time, the disadvantaged conditions of that country, its very needy people, and the missions work that he had witnessed began to greatly impact him as God's Spirit challenged him concerning what he could be doing stateside to further accomplish the Great Commission.  Upon returning home, this man and his wife began to pray for wisdom about how they could participate more practically in Christ's rather radical call to discipleship (cf. Matthew 10:37-39; 16:24-25).  They adopted a "wartime lifestyle" that allowed them to live modestly according to their needs, so that they were freer to contribute financially to God's mission around the world.  Over time, they saw the fruits of their faith, as God blessed their partnership with Him.  What a challenge to break out of our convenient, casual Christianity, and really dive in to God's mission in the world today!  "The mission of the church is missions; the mission of missions is the church" (James MacDonald).

In an American society that is so driven by sight, I know that I must live by faith.  In an American culture that is so given to entertainment, I know that I must live with a mission.  Christ, increase my faith in the unseen, and allow me to give all for You who gave all for me, because my home and reward is not on the earth!

(3) I developed a deeper appreciation for Bible translators.

On the last day of our Missions Conference, Josh Hedges shared more information about his Bible translation work in Chad, Africa.  He sought to provide us with a theological framework for Bible translation, putting it into its proper context of preservation.  Throughout the centuries, God has providentially preserved His Word through the careful transmission and translation of men devoted to carefully passing on God's message of truth.  Translation, then, is vital, not just to preservation, but to the perpetuation of understanding truth in the language of the masses!

Furthermore, Josh showed how translation relates to personal growth, and he did so by creating a scene in which an American church (like mine and yours) were to take a 6-month complete fast from God's Word.  While some in our churches might unfortunately not be affected by such a loss, most of us would find our spiritual stability unraveling, and the preaching in our churches would greatly diminish in its content and effectiveness.  We take for granted in America the immediate access to God's Word that we enjoy in our own language, but many nations have no such access.  The believers in thousands of people groups around the world are illiterate and/or have no Bible translation in their language, and so are unable to experience the spiritual power that God has sourced in His Word.  Praise God, then, for men and women who sacrifice their time to learn the original languages and who sacrifice their comfort to put God's Word in the hands of others.  Since faith comes by hearing the gospel message in God's Word (Romans 10:17), and since God is calling out a people from every people group (Revelation 7:9-10), then we must send Bible translators to do what God has gifted them to do in fulfillment of the Great Commission.

Just some nuggets for thought and application.  I hope we'll partner with Christ in these things, starting in Indianapolis!