A. What Is Biblical Mission? “Biblical mission means more than simply going overseas to plant churches or spread civilization. It means the church participating in the ‘mission of God (Missio Dei)’ and seeking the restoration of God’s rule and glory throughout the whole earth. Mission is not a program that begins with human enthusiasm; rather, it is the heart of God that runs throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, and is a fundamental reason for the church’s existence. Let me clearly summarize five essential principles of true mission as presented in Scripture. 🌍 1. The Mission of God (Missio Dei) The subject and initiator of mission is not human beings but God. In order to save fallen humanity, God first comes to us, sends His Son, and sends the Holy Spirit. He is the “missionary God” who sends. Biblical basis: “As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” (John 20:21) Key meaning: The church acknowledges that God has the initiative in mission and serves as His agent, obed...
God who is near to the brokenhearted “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all” (Psalms 34:18-19). Only God and we know our deep wound in our hearts. There is times when we receive deep wounds in our hearts, so that we refuse to be comforted by anybody else who are around us (Ps. 77:2). In my case, I didn’t want to receive any calls for a week after my first baby Charis died. I didn’t want to get anybody's comfort. I still remember that when I came back to my apartment after Charis’ funeral, I asked my wife to put away all the Charis’ pictures away because it was very hard for me to see her pictures. So my wife took all the baby Chris’ pictures and arranged them in an album until the next day morning even though I am sure she was going through much more pains than me. I still cannot forget her and what she did. I think the d...