It is our final week of Missions Month, and our editorials this month has been focused on the topic of Missions. This week, we hear from Dr Desmond Soh, who served several years as a Missionary in Indonesia, and who was also our camp speaker in 2017, on the “3 Ms of Missions”.(1)
Ps Luwin Wong
While most of us would agree that missions is important, many of us may not have a firm understanding or perspective of missions.
Missions can be broken down into 3 Ms:
Motivation: Why we do what we do
Modality: How do we reach the nations
Membership: Who are the people we are trying to reach
Motivation
When we talk about the motivation of missions, we are essentially talking about the who – who we are doing this for. We are talking about the heartbeat of God.
Hear what Moses said to the Israelites when they were on the verge of entering the Promised Land:
“See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today? Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.” (Deuteronomy 4:5-9)
There are many things that God was calling the Israelites to do. He was calling them to obey the law (v5a, 6a), possess the land (v5b), keep their faith (v9a), pass on what they learned to their children (v9b) and so on.
But most importantly, the central message is that God was inviting His people to be part of His salvation plan. He wants to fulfil His salvation plan for humanity through His people.
And the role of God’s people, the role of the Church, is to live out God’s plan.
Modality
Now, how exactly do we do that? The same passage also gave us some clues.
The Israelites were called to live according to the law as God’s Holy people. They were supposed to live in a way such that the people of the land would be captivated by who they are and who their God is.
In short, we as the people of God, are called to be God’s salt and light in this world. You and I are called to be influencers and culture shapers. We are not to be influenced by culture, but to shape culture.
We are called to live out our lives in such remarkably different ways that the people around us would come to realise that there is a God. And when they ask us questions about our values and our God – that is an opportunity for us to share about the Gospel and who God is!
Membership
Yet, there is still a missing part of the equation. Who are the people that God truly wants to save?
It is anyone who’s on this Earth, because all people matter to God.
Over the past few decades, there have been several terminologies and strategies that were used in the world of missions. Some of them include the “Unreached People Groups” in the 1970s, the “10/40 Window” in the 1980s, and the “Diasporas” in the 2000s.
If you have never heard of some of these names, it is not surprising. Because this shows a prominent problem in the Christian world today – we are beginning to lose sight of who are these people that God truly cares for and desires to reach.
In fact, the Joshua Project found that out of 17,400 people groups in the whole world, 7,400 of them remain unreached – and they make up about 42% of the world’s population.
When we look at the number of individuals instead, 2.06 billion people have never heard of the Gospel in their entire lives. That is 1 in 4 people on this earth.
Bringing it closer to home, more than 90% of the people in Asia still do not know Christ.
The message is clear: There remains a great and urgent need for missions because many people remain unreached and unsaved. Because many have yet to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
We need to be the salt and light to these people who have yet to know who God is. And we can’t do so unless we bring the Gospel to them in truth and in deed.
That precisely, is the heart of missions.
(1) The article is based on a talk delivered at AntiochSummit 2023, written by Dawson Ng. Taken from: https://thirst.sg/is-missions-still-important-today-why-should-i-get-involved/
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