A Chinese Christian was asked after returning from a visit to the United States what the most amazing thing was about the Christians in the U.S. He said, “The most amazing thing about the Christians in the United States is how much they have been able to accomplish without God.”

Doing Missions Without God

{mos_sb_discuss:6}

by Missionary Rick Groover
Celebration Baptist Church
www.celebratehim.org

A Chinese Christian was asked after returning from a visit to the United States what the most amazing thing was about the Christians in the U.S. He said, “The most amazing thing about the Christians in the United States is how much they have been able to accomplish without God.”  One way you can tell if your personal ministry is lacking is if you can explain it all. I recently asked someone how their church service was. They responded that it was good. I asked them, “So, did something supernatural happen or was it business as usual?”  Where did we get the idea that ministry is to be “explainable?” Certainly not by reading the New Testament! Missionary, can you tell us about the supernatural power of God working in your life and ministry? If we cannot, then we are lacking!

Questions for Thought

How much time did your mission training devote to teaching you about the role of the Holy Spirit in missions? If you received the average mission training you received little or no emphasis on the necessity of the Holy Spirit in missions. The average missionary training is all about, “How to do it!” I read somewhere, “Without me ye can do nothing.” Say what you will about
the indwelling Holy Spirit and His always being with us. Although that is true, the disciples didn’t think that way. They relied on Him for everything. Did your teacher or mentor teach you about your need for the Holy Spirit’s guidance? Did they tell you how they receive that same guidance?  One “expert” I talked to was asked about what role the Holy Spirit played in leading him in the areas
of which he had tried to minister. After remaining quiet for a moment he replied, “I can’t say that the Holy Spirit had any part in it.” I ask you, “Whose plan is missions, yours or Gods?” And if God’s, then shouldn’t He lead it? Simply stated, “One God is enough and we are not Him!” We need to get back to letting Him guide our ministries!  How much time, percentage wise, do you spend in prayer for God’s power, leadership, and provision compared to how much time you spend “doing the work?” He who labors with God in prayer loses no time! Do you sweat as much when you pray to God as you do when you work for God? Who have you seen do it? Who is teaching that in our mission training? One flash of lightning is worth a thousand tame candle flickers! God can do more in a moment than you can do in years laboring on in utter powerlessness. How much time have you spent walking around where God has called you to minister with tears in your eyes beseeching Him to move in the hearts of people? Was that your first priority or did you just pass out a bunch of flyers and try to market your way to success? Who builds the church? If you really believe He does then you better get Him involved in it! What you do and how you approach ministry tells who you really depend on. It is either flesh and self or Holy Spirit built! Would the work of the average missionary stand the test of fire? It will if God has built it!

What role does the “Real Soul Winner” play in your evangelism? The weak, non New Testament examples we have seen and read of soul winning without God have killed us. Where is the brokenness and contrition from Holy Spirit power that accompanied conversions in the New Testament at today in most ministries? We spend thousands of dollars on evangelistic crusades and
when the meeting is over the decisions are over also! They never come back and any follow up reveals they care nothing about serving Christ. But then that’s what evangelism without God looks like! How foolish to think all out training, work, and marketing can produce a single conversion without the Holy Spirit! Our supposed “experts” in soul winning have taught us how to get people saved even when they don’t want to pray. How foolish to think you can get a person who doesn’t desire Jesus Christ saved because you use your smooth talking to get him to say words! Most missionaries would have “won” the rich young ruler because they never would have pointed out his covetousness. He would have gone down as a statistic in the next prayer letter yet they would have never seen him again. Let’s you and I remember who the real “Soul Winner” is and depend on Him because without His convicting and quickening power there is no true conversion!  Friend, let us not only make changes in these areas for the better, let us repent! The audacity of missionaries, preachers, and churches to try to do God’s work without Him is the ultimate slap in the face of the Lord of the harvest! It is “His Harvest” for without Him we can do nothing! 

 Prayerfully,

Missionary Rick Groover
Eph. 3:14-19