Missions cannot be left solely to missionaries.
That’s the message of Alabama Baptist churches — that going out to tell others about Jesus is not the specialized task of those who feel “called” but a mandate for all believers. But beyond the mandate, how does this play out in church life?
“We routinely teach our people that the Great Commission is for everyone,” said Scott Bush, senior pastor of Southcrest Baptist Church, Bessemer. “We expose them to the text (of the Bible), and the text tells us consistently that we’re responsible for the gospel going to every nation, tribe and people.”
Bush encourages members of his congregation to go on missions trips if they are able, a message reinforced through persistent education on global missions.
“We [have] missionaries in the pulpit as frequently as we can,” he said. “We write to them and pray for them specifically. Three years ago, we purchased John Piper’s book ‘Let the Nations Be Glad!,’ handed it out to the congregation and had study groups to discuss it to really cast a vision for international missions.”
Through partnerships with Christian organizations, missionaries on the field and churches in different countries, the congregation of about 150 has sent members to various areas of the world from South America to the Middle East. Bush said Southcrest Baptist’s members support each other in their missions trips with encouragement and financial assistance.
Adam Dooley, senior pastor of Dauphin Way Baptist Church, Mobile, also is encouraging his congregation to go on mission, either locally or internationally.
“I’ve often said the purpose of the Church is the glory of Christ but the mission of the Church is the Great Commission because of the conviction that nothing brings more glory to Christ than to see people saved,” he said.
But Dooley realized many people might be unable to go on international missions trips because they lack passports, so Dauphin Way Baptist gave its members some help. On Jan. 30, the church hosted Passport Sunday, providing the necessary paperwork to get a passport and a photographer to take the required photos.
Terry Stephan, missions team coordinator for Dauphin Way, recalled the new determination some members gained from the event.
“[I heard things like], ‘This is causing me to begin to make a decision that I waffled on for so long, which is that I know I’m called to serve. I’ve never been out of the country, and when Pastor put it to us like he did, it just broke my heart that I needed to get my passport and be ready because there will be opportunities (for missions) that come.’”
Dooley said one of the benefits of churches emphasizing missions is that it gives them an outward focus.
“When you (as a church) are focused on reaching the lost, you’re not as easily divided and you don’t fight over petty things,” he said. “I think this emphasis is going to change the way we do every ministry (at Dauphin Way). We want to ask the question, ‘Do our ministries help us accomplish the Great Commission?’ If they don’t, we need to rethink the way we’re doing ministry.”
Bush has seen the change in the lives of church members when they return from missions trips: They have a greater heart for people, commitment to evangelism and sense of connection to the global community of believers.
“They don’t think about church just as a gathering here in Bessemer but the body of Christ around the world,” he said.
“It helps them understand church is bigger than what we see within our four walls.”
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