Missions Motivation Mondays: Missiology 101

What is mission work?
Obeying Jesus's command in the Great Commission.

What is the Great Commission?
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” -- Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20

What is an evangelist?
A person who shares the gospel message with another person or group of people.

What is a missionary?
A person who carries the gospel and Christian teachings to an unreached people group.

What is a people group?
A people group is the largest group through which the gospel can flow without encountering significant barriers of understanding (language) and acceptance (culture).

What is an unreached/least-reached people group?
A people group among which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize that people group.

My church doesn't currently support anyone working in an unreached people group, but we do support people working in reached people groups overseas. Aren't we still doing mission work?
Technically, no. You are probably doing evangelism, compassion/mercy work, or support work. These things are all incredibly important, and although they often go hand-in-hand with mission work, unless your church is supporting work among an unreached people group, then your church isn't involved in missions. Don't stop doing what you are doing, but find a way to get involved in reaching the unreached.

I think every Christian is a missionary, and that anytime you share your faith or advance the Kingdom you are doing mission work.
That is fine. You are certainly entitled to your opinion. But the fact still remains that you and your church should be involved with reaching the unreached. Call it what you want, but for the purpose of communicating clearly, I call it mission work. Some call it pioneer mission work, and I suppose that is fine too. So long as the Good News about Jesus, Salvation, and the Kingdom is going to every tribe, tongue, people, and nation...I won't argue too much over semantics.

How many unreached people groups are there?
Approximately 6,705

Should we expect all the people groups to eventually be reached?
Yes:
"...this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." -- Matthew 24:14

"...I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb." -- Revelation 7:9

So it isn't a hopeless task?
Absolutely not. It is THE story of history. Get on board!

What should I do?
Pray about that very thing, and then...go, send, or disobey

Don't I need a "call" or something to be involved with missions?
According to the Great Commision, you already have one.

But I'm not really that interested in missions.
Repent.