A general introduction to the topic of missions and why missions is integral to the mission of the church

1. Why Missions?
Robert D. Patton, M.D.
Missionary to Suriname
Baptist World Mission

2. We should have missions
because
 Missions is the heartbeat of God – He sent
His Son as the first missionary
 God deserves the glory of His creation
 God wants worshippers from every people
and tongue and nation
 Jesus Christ has commanded us
 We are in the age of grace
 We have the indwelling Holy Spirit

3. God sent His Son
 Gal. 4:[4] But when the fulness of
the time was come, God sent
forth his Son, made of a woman,
made under the law,[5] To
redeem them that were under the
law, that we might receive the
adoption of sons

4. God sent His Son
 John 3:[16] For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.
[17] For God sent not his Son into
the world to condemn the world;
but that the world through him
might be saved

5. For the glory of God
 Isaiah 42:[8] I am the LORD: that
is my name: and my glory will I
not give to another, neither my
praise to graven images ...[12] Let
them give glory unto the LORD ,
and declare his praise in the
islands.

6. For the glory of God
 Isaiah 48:[11] For mine own sake,
even for mine own sake, will I do
it: for how should my name be
polluted? and I will not give my
glory unto another.

7. For the GLORY of God
 Rev. 4:11 Thou art worthy, O
Lord, to receive glory and honor
and power; for thou hast created
all things, and for thy pleasure
they are and were created.

8. God wants worshippers of
every nation, tongue & people
 Revelation 5:9 And they sung a
new song, saying, Thou art
worthy to take the book, and to
open the seals thereof; for thou
wast slain, and hast redeemed us
to God by thy blood out of every
kindred, and tongue, and people,
and nation

9. God wants worshippers of
every nation, tongue & people
 Revelation 7:9 After this I beheld,
and lo, a great multitude, which
no man could number, of all
nations, and kindreds, and
people, and tongues, stood
before the throne, and before the
Lamb, clothed with white robes,
and palms in their hands.

10. God seeks spiritual worship
 John 4:[23] But the hour cometh,
and now is, when the true
worshippers shall worship the
Father in spirit and in truth: for
the Father seeketh such to
worship him.[24] God is a Spirit:
and they that worship him must
worship him in spirit and in truth.

11. God wants all men reached
 2 Peter 3:[9] The Lord is not
slack concerning his promise, as
some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward , not
willing that any should perish, but
that all should come to
repentance

12. God’s goal -
 To populate the entire universe
with believers who resemble
Jesus Christ, because He lives in
us…
 We are created in His image
 We are to reign with Him as kings
and priests forever
 We are co-inheritors with Christ

13. God makes us resemble
Jesus
 Romans 8:[29] For whom he did fore-
know, he also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many
brethren. [30] Moreover whom he did
predestinate, them he also called: and
whom he called, them he also justified:
and whom he justified, them he also
glorified.

14. Believers become His children
 Romans 8:[14] For as many as are led
by the Spirit of God, they are the sons
of God.[15] For ye have not received
the spirit of bondage again to fear; but
ye have received the Spirit of adoption ,
whereby we cry, Abba, Father.[16] The
Spirit itself beareth witness with our
spirit, that we are the children of God .

15. Believers become His children
 Romans 8:[17] And if children, then
heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with
Christ; if so be that we suffer with him,
that we may be also glorified together.
[18] For I reckon that the sufferings of
this present time are not worthy to be
compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us.[19] For the earnest
expectation of the creature waiteth for
the manifestation of the sons of God.

16. Our command
 Mark 16:15 And he said unto them,
Go ye into all the world, and preach
the gospel to every creature
 John 20:21 Then said Jesus to
them again, Peace be unto you; as
my Father hath sent me, even so
send I you.

17. Our message
 Luke 24:46 And said unto them,
Thus it is written, and thus it
behooved Christ to suffer, and to
rise from the dead the third day;
47. And that repentance and
remission of sins should be
preached in his name among all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem

18. Our method – salvation and
discipleship
 Mt. 28:18 And Jesus came and
spake unto them, saying, All power is
given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19. Go therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost; Teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you, and lo, I am with
you always, even unto the end of the
world

19. Our responsibility
 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any
man be in Christ, he is a new
creature; old things are passed
away; behold, all things are become
new. 18. And all things are of God,
who hath reconciled us to himself by
Jesus Christ, and hath given to us
the ministry of reconciliation

20. Our responsibility - continued
 II Cor. 5:19 To wit, that God was in
Christ, reconciling the world unto
himself, not imputing their trespasses
unto them; and hath committed unto
us the word of reconciliation. 20.
Now then we are ambassadors for
Christ, as through God did beseech
you by us; we pray you in Christ’s
stead, be ye reconciled to God

21. God’s provision
 II Peter 1:3 According as his
divine power has given unto us
all things that pertain unto life
and godliness, through the
knowledge of Him that hath called
us to glory and virtue,

22. God’s provision (continued)
 II Peter 1:4 Whereby are given
unto us exceeding great and
precious promises: that by these
ye might be partakers of the
divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world
through lust…

23. Troubles lead us to depend on
Him
 2 Cor. 12:[7] And lest I should be
exalted above measure through the
abundance of the revelations, there
was given to me a thorn in the flesh,
the messenger of Satan to buffet me,
lest I should be exalted above
measure.[8] For this thing I besought
the Lord thrice, that it might depart
from me

24. Remember – it is of Him, and
not of us
 II Cor. 12:9 And He said unto me,
My grace (God’s supernatural
enabling power) is sufficient for
thee; for my strength is made
perfect in weakness . Most gladly
therefore will I rather glory in my
infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me .

25. Are you willing to say with
missionary Paul
 2 Cor. 12:10 Therefore I take
pleasure in infirmities, in
reproaches, in necessities, in
persecutions, in distresses for
Christ’s sake: for when I am weak,
then am I strong.

26. Are we prepared to be used?
 Are you willing to be used? My
greatest strength was science
and medicine – my weakness,
languages. God took away my
medical career and started me
translating the Bible.

27. God works through our
weakness
 I Cor. 1:[26] For ye see your calling,
brethren, how that not many wise men
after the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble, are called:[27] But God
hath chosen the foolish things of the
world to confound the wise; and God
hath chosen the weak things of the
world to confound the things which are
mighty;

28. God works through our
weakness
 I Cor. 1:[28] And base things of the
world, and things which are despised,
hath God chosen, yea, and things which
are not, to bring to nought things that
are:[29] That no flesh should glory in
his presence.

29. God delights to use our
weakness for His glory
 One rod in the hand of Moses
against the mighty Egyptian nation
 A trumpet, torch and clay pot in the
hands of Gideon’s 300 against
135,000 Midianites
 A few fish and a little bread to feed
5000 men
 The cross – against the power of
Satan

30. Have we done our duty?
 More than 50% of the world has
never heard the gospel
 The number of unsaved is constantly
increasing
 The largest group of unsaved are in
the so-called 10/40 window between
10 and 40 degrees north – they are
unreached because they are difficult

31. What about translations?
 85% of the Bibles printed are in
English. Only 9% of the world
have English as their first
language
 There are approximately 6950
known languages. Only 457 have
an entire Bible translated . More
than 2000 have not a single word
translated into their language .

32. Where are large challenges?
 Previously – Africa, with malaria and
other illnesses killing many, as well
as resistance from witchcraft, etc.
 China fought against the foreign
devils – abt. 200 died in the Boxer
Rebellion
 In the south sea islands, cannibalism
–
 The Gordons, John Williams and James

33. Where are large challenges?
 Now – terrorism and persecution,
especially in Muslim and communist
countries, as well as some in
Roman Catholic countries
 Many of the martyrs are the national
Christians
 Closed doors need to be prayed
open; we need to walk through open
doors

34. Where are you going to work?
 Where are the greatest needs?
 Where are the biggest
challenges?
 Where is it most difficult?

35. Where are you going to work?
 My advice –
 Give yourself totally over to the
Lord
 Go as far as you can , and ask
Him to stop you when you should
not proceed further

36. The missionary’s task
 To plant self-sustaining, self-
propagating churches in a different
culture/language group
 This may mean working yourself
out of a job
 You may have to give the work
over to someone with different
talents, skills and methods than
you have…

37. The missionary’s responsibility
 A consistent witness to the power
of the Spirit-filled and controlled
life in context
 Husband-wife relationships
 Raising children – obedience,
attitudes
 Relationship with other missionaries
 Relationship with nationals

38. The missionary’s responsibility
 To use, through the power of the Holy
Spirit, his spiritual gifts – may show in:
 Publishing
 Translation
 Church planting
 Teaching ministry
 Medicine
 Communication – radio & TV
 Support ministries, etc.

39. Problems missionaries face in
the USA
 Transportation – especially reliable
vehicle
 Lodging, with preferably some sort of
base to leave items, pack, etc
 Costs of being constantly on the road –
especially food and lodging
 Obtaining meetings
 Adequate support base – prayer as well
as money

40. Problems missionaries face
on the field
 Spiritual health and growth.
 Support often missing that you have in
the USA – friends, pastors, meetings
 Continued spiritual growth. You cannot
lead beyond where you have gone
 Often you have just invaded enemy
territory which Satan has held long – and
he will fight against you

41. Problems missionaries face
Spiritual growth
 Must be a high priority
 Have time for prayer and
personal Bible study
 Time for prayer with others as
well
 Sermons or tapes or books are
important

42. Problems missionaries face
Cultural adaptation
 Language
 Culture – priorities, ways of doing
things; family structure
 Climate
 Food

43. Problems missionaries face
Support facilities
 Especially noted in technical fields
like medicine, broadcasting,
publishing, etc
 Medical and dental support
 Equipment and supplies
 You may lack Christian fellowship of
others from a similar background

44. Problems missionaries face
Family
 Children care & education – home
schooling is more developed now
 Higher education for children
 Elderly parents who need care

45. Working with other
missionaries
 You have little choice of co-workers
 You must learn to work together if
the work is to progress
 Unfortunately sometimes
missionaries leave the field because
of differences in personality,
philosophy, etc.

46. Supporting churches sometimes
lack understanding of the field
situation
 For example – soulwinning in Hungary
vs. Suriname; or soulwinning in a
village next to a compound vs. a city
situation like Paramaribo
 Demonic attacks in third world
countries like Suriname
 Witnessing in a communist or Muslim
country

47. How can the supporting
church help? - First
 Prayer
 Prayer
 Prayer
 Prayer
 This is why we send out prayer
updates

48. How can supporting churches
help?
 Personal interest in the missionary
and his field
 Encouragement
 Financial support
 Willingness to personally get involved
in missions. Remember the church of
Antioch gave up its senior pastor and
its best preacher-teacher – Barnabas
& Paul

49. How can supporting churches
help
 Second best is not really glorifying to
the Lord. Our God is not a second best
God.
 Our offering must reflect our idea of
God.
 This includes our personnel & gifts &
equipment

50. How can supporting churches
help
 Malachi 1:8 And if ye offer the
blind for sacrifice, is it not evil?
And if ye offer the lame and the
sick, is it not evil? Offer it now
unto thy governor; will he be
pleased with thee, and accept thy
person, saith the Lord of hosts?

51. God’s provision = our
responsibility
 We are the richest country in the world,
and still free to worship though our
freedom is being attacked on multiple
fronts.
 Remember what happened to the first
areas of missionaries – England, Ger-
many, Holland, etc – where we send
missionaries now – let this be a warning
to us

52. God’s provision = our
responsibility
 What did God do to Israel, who
was to be a light to all the world
when they refused to fulfill their
God-given mandate, and retreated
within themselves?

53. God’s provision = our
responsibility
 There are apostate
denominations now who are
seeking to come under the
leadership of African leaders in
the Anglican community because
of homosexuality & lack of
respect for the Word
 Sometimes other nations will be
far more successful in
penetrating other cultures than
we do as western missionaries.

54. The Holy Spirit makes things
happen!
 When the individual is filled with the
Holy Spirit, a few things are inevitable
 Joyful lives
 Souls saved
 Persecution
 Church growth – the blood of the martyrs
is the seed of the church
 When Paul arrived, he often caused a
riot

55. We pray to come full circle in
our own personal ministry
 We covet your prayers that our
Suriname churches will become
self-governing, self-supporting
and self-propagating, and also
train their own nationals as
missionaries to spread the word
further…

56. Important trends in missions
 About 80% of all money for
believing Christians comes from
North America and Europe
 However, 2/3 of Christians are
now located in Latin and South
America, Africa, Asia, and
Oceania

57. 2/3 world missions
 Missionaries coming from the
developing world are increasing
at a rate 5x that of the USA, etc.
 However, most of the financial
resources are in the USA

58. Partnerships are becoming
more common
 We live in a global era
 Partnerships with developing
nations are becoming more
common – to tie the strengths of
the national organization with that
of the US sending organization

59. Partnerships make things
complicated
 You must deal with cross-cultural
communication and understanding
 It is important not to undermine the
national churches by overwhelming
them with outside finances
 No paternalism
 No dependency
 But partnership

60. The persecuted church
 Over 80% of all religious
persecution falls on Christians
 Nearly 200,000 martyrs are
expected now PER YEAR
 Over 400,000,000 persons will
suffer some sort of religious
persecution – perhaps loss of job,
chance for education, etc.

61. We must not forget the
persecuted church
 Heb. 13:[3] Remember them that
are in bonds, as bound with them;
and them which suffer adversity,
as being yourselves also in the
body.

62. Now the challenge to YOU
 Have you totally yielded to the Lord,
and are you willing to do whatever He
shows you?
 Are you committed to growing in the
Lord?
 Are you willing to place the Lord’s will
as your first priority above your own
plans?