missions

when mom and dad started our church, they were adamant that it be a missions-minded church. because of that, we have all grown up with an awareness that there were people all over the world who needed to hear the gospel. now that i'm older, i appreciate how much my parents made us aware that others are not as fortunate as we are and that as christians, we need to tell others about Christ. about two years ago, kelli and i traveled with some other people from chi alpha to kentucky for the world missions summit. it was a wonderful opportunity, and my favorite part was when we ate lunch with different missionaries. it was there that we met alton garrison and his wife. i enjoyed visiting with them and hearing their stories from the mission field. if i remember correctly, he has been in charge of the u. s. missions department in our denomination, and currently serves as assistant general assistant of the Assemblies of God. here's a post that he wrote last year.

last night was the missions service, and guess who spoke? alton garrison. it was a great service, and i especially was challenged by his sermon. he spoke about how if everyone did their part, the God would be able to do even greater things. he mentioned the donkey on which Jesus rode on during palm sunday. the donkey's only job was to lift Jesus up, and he did his job. just as the donkey was covered with robes, some people who are called to the ministry or to the mission field hesitate because they think they will be covered up. they think that they will never be recognized for what they do and others won't be able to appreciate them (a very timely sermon considering the day's prior events). i admit that i'm guilty of just that. i sometimes wonder if anyone appreciates or even notices my feeble attempts to bring others to Christ. but you know what?

it doesn't matter. it's not about me; it's about those who have never even heard the name of Jesus. it's about those who are hurting or are dead spiritually and need someone to guide them to the One who can heal them. it's about everyone doing their part to lift Jesus up. no, i haven't been doing my part. but alton garrison's sermon spoke to me and challenged me to do just that.