Ask Your Preacher - Archives
“Mission Plan”
Categories: THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCHHello. Are there organizations that I could go on mission trips with even if I don't belong to a certain church? I really feel like God is pulling me toward missions, and I would love to reach out to others and share God's love. Thanks much.Sincerely,
Wanting to Reach Out
Dear Wanting To Reach Out,
The church is God’s organization for spreading the good news. We applaud your zeal to spread God’s Word, so let’s see if we can give you some information that can help focus that zeal in the most effective way. God tells us that zeal is only effective when combined with knowledge (Rom 10:1-2). There is no such thing as a christian that isn’t a member of a congregation – even the apostle Paul was a member of the Antioch congregation (Acts 11:26). The great evangelism efforts that Paul and Barnabas spearheaded all started from their work with the local church in the city of Antioch. The church is God’s tool to protect and spread the good news of Christ (1 Tim 3:15). In fact, we are warned against forsaking the assembly of the church (Heb 10:24-25). Christians aren’t meant to function without the support of the church. We would be happy to point you toward a congregation in your area that is faithful, evangelistic, and ready to use your zeal to spread the good news. If we can help, just e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.