There are many important responsibilities applicable to Christian missions. However, of all that can be listed, there are seven essential tasks that are the most central. This article briefly describes and analyzes the seven main points relevant to Christian missions.

Foreign Christian Missions exists to:

1. Exalt the name of the only true God

2. Exemplify the Body of Christ

3. Evangelize unbelievers

4. Educate the disciples

5. Establish local church bodies

6. Equip and empower national leaders

7. Encourage the National Church as a partner in Christ

Exalt the name of the only true God

First, Christian missions exist to exalt the Name of the One True God. Christians believe that there is only one Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and of all living beings. He made each human being a special and unique person with an eternal value in his eyes. Exalting His Name means glorifying God or, in simple terms, making God look good and attractive to others. Certainly others have the right to reject God, but they should never reject God because of the unseemly character of a missionary group or team member.

It exemplifies the Body of Christ

Second, Christian missions are about exemplifying the Body of Christ. Exemplifying the Body of Christ means modeling the kind of loving fellowship that comes from knowing Jesus and walking together in the Holy Presence of God. Christian missionaries are far from perfect, but as a group they exist to show others around the world a kind of support and camaraderie that does not exist in the secular world. Christian missionary teams are envoys or ambassadors who represent the Kingdom of God, a place of refuge, a safe haven from the storms of life. Exemplifying the Body of Christ means valuing each member along with their special quirks and quirks and helping each other to prosper to God’s full potential. As such, team members seek God together and when conflict arises, as it inevitably will, they are quick to talk about differences, forgive each other, and walk together, hand in hand.

Evangelize unbelievers

The third essential task of Christian missions is to evangelize unbelievers. Unfortunately, the term – evangelize – has a bad connotation, as it portrays a Christian hitting a non-Christian over the head with a Bible until they cower into submission and – pray the sinner’s prayer. The term – evangelize – simply means – to give them the good news – of God’s great love for them. To testify about Him, who He is and what He has done.

If there is only one true God, then it is imperative that Christians, including Christian missionaries, tell others about Him and how they can have a relationship with Him. Telling others the good news also includes telling them about the Son of God, Jesus Christ, His loving sacrifice on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, and how Jesus conquered death by rising on the third day.

Perhaps, it should be written that telling the good news does not mean pushing Christ down someone else’s throat. Not even the most persuasive person can make another person a true believer through coercion. Christians are called to be loving, kind, and cordial. God’s job is to convince others to believe; It is the task of the Christian missionary simply to present the good news with love.

Educate the disciples of Jesus Christ

The fifth purpose of Christian missions is to educate disciples. Educating disciples means teaching new believers how to grow in their faith and knowledge of God and Jesus Christ. The main source of teaching should be the Christian Bible. New believers should be taught or trained in the basics of Christian faith and practice, including how to:

– Praise God

– Read and study the Bible

– Pray for themselves and others.

– Fellowship with other believers

– Cope with conflict

– Forgive themselves and others

– Tell others about God and Jesus.

Establish local church bodies

Another task related to Christian missions is to establish local church bodies or start new church groups. Christians should never have lived their lives in isolation. Each person has been uniquely created to function within a larger organization of believers. The reason this is so is because every human being is finite in his abilities. Nobody is good at everything. Christians need each other to balance and help each other to flourish to their optimum potential. The Christian Bible tells us that each member of the Christian family has been given unique spiritual gifts to assist in the administration of the church. The goal is to establish a place of loving fellowship where fellow believers can worship God and support each other in their relationship with God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

It should be noted that establishing a local church does not mean making the church resemble American or Western cultural norms. Each culture has its own unique expression of what it means to do church. Missionaries should allow national believers to explore what it means to do church in their own cultural context.

Finally, part of the task of establishing a local church body is teaching and training them in church administration. This includes guiding them through the process of:

– Define your own vision for the church,

– Write guidelines for church discipline.

– Learn to manage church finances.

Equip and empower national leaders

A sixth purpose of Christian missions is to equip and empower national leaders. The ultimate goal of Christian mission teams is to be out of work. Many missionaries lack the faith and trust in God to keep their church going when they leave. Christian leaders are often too slow to let go of the leadership reins to national believers. It seems a bit ironic that these missionaries, who trusted God enough to leave their home and family to go to a strange and distant land, are not able to muster enough faith in God to raise up competent leadership in their place. Still, leadership development is a central task of the Christian mission team.

Encourage the National Church as collaborators in Christ

It is not an appropriate goal for the Christian mission organization to remain on the ground forever. It is another imperative that mission teams define an exit strategy, clearly defining what a mature national church should look like and how to step back when the time is right. However, this does not mean that the relationship should end. In fact, the seventh purpose of Christian missions is to encourage the national church as co-workers in Christ. That encouragement can come through letters or regular visits. When a mission organization has come out of a foreign field, the national church and / or one or more of the local bodies will have periods when they will experience difficult times. It is not the mission group’s job to jump in and take the reins again, but rather to be there to provide moral support and encouragement.

There are many important responsibilities applicable to Christian missions. However, of all that can be listed, there are seven essential tasks that are the most central. This article has outlined and briefly discussed the seven main points relevant to Christian missions.