10 things missions minded Christians should know >>
Missions Minded = Soul Conscious!
It seems rather ludicrous to state that a missions minded Christian should know how to lead someone to the Lord, but it is not. There are scores of Christians who are enamored with missions who have never even led one soul to Christ themselves. They are interested in what I like to call: the romanticism of missions travel. Of course they haven’t taken time to consider everything that goes on behind the scenes, the most important of all is leading souls to Christ.
Being a missionary myself, I have seen “missionaries” come to the field who never tried to lead one soul to Christ. Like here in the USA, they are more focused on “sharing” and “caring” than they are in a persons eternal position. Mostly this involves things like: “Medical Missions”, “Humanitarian Aid” and “Social Improvement.” I would be surprised to hear that you have never been encouraged to dig a well or buy a goat for some foreign need. People actually consider a medical trip to a remote region to be a missionary trip. There is no doubt that these such endeavors have their place, but without the gospel of salvation, how could it truly be helpful to the soul of the people you affect.
I am of the firm opinion that unless you are actively looking to lead souls to Christ, that you cannot truly claim the title of missionary. Previously, when making this statement to others, I have been directed to the Bible where it says that Paul was a tent maker. I don’t see this as justification for only filling some practical need for the “nationals” at all because Paul led people to Christ. He didn’t come into a village and help a poor family only. He helped people and at the same time preached to them the gospel. He was involved in the winning of souls to Christ.
Missions minded Christians ought to be soul winners. This is not to say that they cannot be involved in other things, but their ultimate goal should be the salvation of souls from hell. If you consider yourself to be “missions minded,” or claim the title of “missionary”, get involved in the winning of souls or don’t use the title. Call yourself something else. If you are missions minded and you have gotten off track, get back on track. Make your goal to sing a resounding, “There’s a new name written down in glory,” because you led a soul to Christ. Study it. Practice it. Do it! True, you should have not considered yourself to be missions minded in the first place if you are not leading souls to Christ, but that is your mistake. Now you must correct it. You must be involved in the greatest endeavor on earth so you can teach it to others. Your missions must be the winning of souls.