I’ve been ask this question a number of times, so I thought it would be an important subject to discuss. Wikipedia describes a Missionary as the following:
A missionary – is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development.
The word “mission” originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin missionem (nom. missio), meaning “act of sending” or mittere, meaning “to send”.[3] The word was used in light of its biblical usage; in the Latin translation of the Bible, Christ uses the word when sending the disciples to preach in his name. The term is most commonly used for Christian missions, but can be used for any creed or ideology.[4]
I was caught off guard when I was first ask if I were a Missionary, because the only real reference that I could think of at the moment were the senior ladies that use to wear black hats and long white dresses. They were in charge of most of the hospitality ministries at the church, but the longer I thought about it I remember we did send someone to Africa to do mission work, and there was that time I just happen to pick up a book about a real missionary.
Eight years later, my perspective have change quite a bit, but what has really had a dramatic change has been the my definition of what people call a missionary. Now, I don’t like calling people missionaries, or neither do I like using that word to identify me either. My reason being, the way many people label those that go to the field as missionaries as if they were the only ones that have a mission to accomplish. The great Commission was given to all of us, and not just a few, that means we all have a mission to accomplish.
The “words” that best describes all of us is the ones that the bible actually gives us. Words like; disciples, soldiers and ambassadors. We could choose anyone of those words and it would be appropriate. My word is “soldiers”, I like it for several reasons: First, we are the sons of God in the Army of our Lord, Second, a soldier understands words like, mission, orders, battlefield, armor and team work.
Recruits go through basic training together, no matter what their job description in the Army would be, and when training was up, they are sent to their duty station throughout the world to perform their duties with the training they was given in their specify specialty, that would help the overall mission of their commander and Chief.
A lot of the missionaries that I have run into were more like the special forces inside the military, but you still have front line soldiers and support soldiers….etc. I am convince that our enemy wants us to remain ignorant about God true intentions for His sons, but the devil is a liar. It is time to have a paradigm shift in our thinking. We have to think just like our Father wanted us to think. We have to put on the whole armor of God and prepare for the battle ahead. I need the support of all of my Christian brothers and sisters to help accomplish the “mission” that God has given me, we need each other.
You are a soldier, whether your job is to stand as an usher welcoming new recruits into the body of Christ, or singing on the praise team, running evil spirits out of the church; remember, how the walls of Jericho came tumbling down. When we were children, we play like children, we behaved like children, but now that we are maturing just as our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ is on the way back, it’s time for us to put away those childish ways of thinking and behaving. We are Soldiers, in the Army of the Lord, we are willing to sacrifice our lives for the cause of Christ, He is our Teacher and we are His Disciples, we prefer to take the diplomatic approach as ambassadors, but if not, in the Name of Jesus, we are more than conquerors through Christ. So the next time someone ask you whether you’re a missionary or not, tell them you are a Soldier on a Mission…. Selah
The Gate 