Evangelism

Why Are We Passionate About Missions?

April 28, 2017 By Brooks Szewczyk Leave a Comment

I hope to see a day when I’ll be in another culture, preaching the gospel of Christ. I am currently a student at a missions-training university in Minnesota, where I am being equipped to take the church to where it is not. My goal is to be a long-term missionary.

In this school, there is a great enthusiasm for doing missions. The students are passionate about going. The faculty is passionate about equipping and fielding. There are many incredible reasons to pursue this passion.

The Glory of God

God is worthy of infinite praise, and He desires the worship of all peoples. He commands us to go to all nations to make known the knowledge of His glory. We are His friends if we do what He commands us (John 15:14). Out of love and reverence for our gracious Lord, we go.

There is one passage in the Bible that I see many students and faculty encouraged by frequently. “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea,” (Habakkuk 2:14). We are so excited for the beginning of the age when we will be with the Lord forever. At this point, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

A passion for God’s glory is always the primary reason for good multi-ethnic ministry. When we cease to be passionate about Him, we cease to be doing Christ-honoring work. “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

The Joy of People

John Piper said that “We exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples.” When we evangelize, we carry the message of life and hope to a dead and hopeless world. God wants a people who are ever rejoicing in Him.

We are commanded to love our enemies and our neighbors (Matthew 5:44, 22:39). To keep the gospel from a person is to display a lack of love for that person. This is true regardless of the situation. Sharing the gospel is the most loving thing to do even when it feels awkward, when it causes persecution, when it causes you to live in poverty. We have the joy of Christ through the work of His Spirit (Galatians 6:22), and we get to spread the gospel to create joy in Christ among men.

One of the students, Elisabeth Greenough, remarked: “Our end goal is not simply to change anyone’s poverty level; our end goal is to bring them joy in Christ alone.”

We have the privilege of being used by God to reconcile sinners joyfully to Himself. Matt Chandler said that when we do missions, we participate in a “cosmic take your child to work day.” Salvation is the work of our sovereign Lord.

Trials Are Gain

We have the privilege of suffering for the Lord, and missions is one way that we may suffer. Our suffering produces at least 2 blessed things in believers: endurance and glorification. Both of which scripture says is a reason for joy. Consider the following passages.

“The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” – Romans 8:16-17

“It has been given to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him.” – Philippians 1:29

“Therefore we do not give up; even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.” – 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

“For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” – Philippians 1:21

“Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you face various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.” – James 1:2-4

It’s Exciting

Many aspects of missions are thoroughly enjoyable. Missionaries get to experience unique cultures, places, and people. Here are some exciting facets of missions.

Learning a new language
Meeting new people
Seeing the world
Eating new food
Praying for people you’d have never known
Experiencing new cultures

Ultimately One Reason

Missions will now always be that pleasant. We cannot count on places, cultures, or people to bring us contentment in our work. Our contentment and joy must always be Christ, lest we fail. We may be martyred, lose all comfort, experience persecution, or stay in spiritual trenches. But, it is unquestionably worth it to say to the nations “come, magnify the Lord with me.”

We have one goal: that God is glorified. “Ascribe to the LORD you heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.” – Psalm 29:1-2

“Someone asked if the heathen who have never heard the Gospel be saved? It is more a question with me whether we — who have the Gospel and fail to give it to those who have not — can be saved.” — Charles Spurgeon

What to Do While Waiting at McDonald’s

October 1, 2016 By Brooks Szewczyk Leave a Comment

At a McDonald’s about a week ago, I met a Laotian man named Si. We talked about how long we have lived in the Twin Cities and what it has been like so far. He has been here about 5 years.

When we first started talking, he told me that he was from Thailand. I got excited and told him that I hope to be moving there in 2 years. He then said “Well, I’m actually from Laos. But, nobody knows where that is.” He must have met some people who didn’t know that Laos is on the northeastern border of Thailand (picture provided).

laos-mmap-md — Picture Credit: Operation World

I asked him if he was involved with a church in the area.

“I am, how you say … Buddha?”

“Oh, okay! You’re Buddhist?”

“Yes, yes. I go to temple once a year.” I asked him what being a Buddhist and going to temple mean. He said “I think that we need to be better people, and we have different beliefs about how to do that, but they all work. If you believe Christianity, Buddha, Islam, or just nothing, that can be true for you.”

I respond “You know, I think what set Jesus apart from all of those other religions is that the end goal of all things is not the bettering of humanity, but making much of God. Because He deserves it right? Also, the Bible points out that as good as we can get, we can’t be good. Only God is good, and his goodness is far above ours. That is why we need a savior, which Jesus was. What do you think?”

“I think that if that works for you, it’s true. But something else works for me and others, so that is what is true for us.” This begins to sound a bit like a mix of pragmatism and relativism.

“Not everything can be true, though,” I say. “For instance, if Christianity is true, there is one God who is alone the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists. But, if Hinduism is true, there are 33 million gods who play different roles throughout everything that exists. Both of those things can’t be true right? Knowing that not everything can be true, it’s important that we seek out and know what is the truth, and I think I have found the answer. Jesus said that He is the Truth.”

He said he understands what I’m saying, and I asked how I can pray for him. He said that everything is okay and he doesn’t really need prayer. I asked him if I could pray for him anyway. He said yes and thanked me.

Then, they called his order number. We shook hands, and Si left.

We did get to talk a good bit more than is written here about what temple means to him, and what the gospel is. When I told him that Jesus brings forgiveness through his death, he replied “I didn’t know that.” He got to hear the gospel and what it means to surrender to the Lord.

We can still pray for him, that the Truth is shown to him! Pray that the Lord draws him to Himself.

Pray for Bobby

September 17, 2016 By Brooks Szewczyk 4 Comments

I met Bobby yesterday. My friend Brittany and I walked up to him while he was sitting on the streets. I asked if I could sit by him, and he said sure. Brittany stood in front of us. It was a great conversation, and I walked away in tears. This was all part of a weekly event called Street Level, where we go into the streets of Minneapolis and share the gospel.

I can’t give exhaustive detail of the conversation, but I can hit some key parts that should allow you to pray with knowledge and a heart for this man. The following are not inferences, they are by his own words!

Bobby recognizes that the world needs Jesus. He stated the wrongs in this world, and showed he knows we need hope.
Bobby understands that the only hope we can give the world is Jesus, and that Jesus alone is powerful enough to conquer depravity on Earth.
Bobby longs for the joy that he says he sees in Christians. He is caught in the monotony of his daily life, and is open to the transformation of Jesus that he has witnessed in his friends.
“I have tried to ask for Jesus, but I never experienced anything.”
He acknowledges our shared sinful nature and need for a savior.

Through all of this you might assume that he is ripe for harvest, and I sure hope that’s true! But, not last night. I asked what is keeping him from accepting Jesus, and he said “Something, but I don’t really know what.”

We went through the gospel, good news that the savior he knows we need has come! He was willing to talk about this. I gave him the 21 day challenge, and he said he will try to do it. The challenge was written on a card by my friend Billy, and I wrote my name and number on the card.

He didn’t want to surrender to Jesus, but he allowed us to pray for him.

In prayer, we asked that God pursue Bobby. I was audacious enough to ask God to have Bobby make use of my number. Brittany said he looked up at me when I said that!

Please pray for him! If he thinks that he isn’t there yet, he is believing a lie. “Jesus will meet you where you are in order to take you where He wants you to go.” — Tony Evans

Pray that he calls or texts me, that Jesus meets him in his life, that the gospel would be stuck in his mind. Pray that the Lord speaks to him, and that He would remove all belief in Bobby that he can’t have Jesus.

For the next 21 days, while Bobby is taking the challenge, I will be praying for him. If you would like to join in that prayer, check out my weekly email prayer list. You can click here to see that page. Thank you for your dedication!

“I’m smoking weed.”

September 10, 2016 By Brooks Szewczyk Leave a Comment

Last night, I went into the streets of downtown Minneapolis to share the gospel with people. It was with a group, so I had some friends with me.

Of the few people I met, one really stood out to me. There was a guy named Victor who was sitting on a bench with another guy. It was dark outside, but I walked up and asked him how he was doing (trying to start a casual conversation.)

He yells “Before you say anything to me, I’m smoking weed right now. You can’t change that; I’m a grown man. I make my own decisions, and I want to smoke weed.” I may have left out a few expletives. He then said “Good, now that we’re clear, give me your spiel.”

“Man, I’m not wanting to give you a spiel. You are getting no judgement from me.” My first concern is not physical damage, but spiritual. It’s obvious Victor has been hurt before.

“No, it’s okay. I told you that you can give me your spiel. Give it to me.”

“I just want to know, how can I pray for you? I don’t want to talk your head off or beat you with a Bible. How can I pray for you today?”

His tone changed when he says “I, umm, I really think that God has blessed me. You can thank him for that. He has given me great musical talent.” Victor then shows me a picture of Prince and we talk about it, but mostly about me not knowing who it was by looking at the picture!

We talked about his life for a while, weaving the gospel into the conversation. I asked if we could pray. He immediately grabbed my hands and bowed his head. I prayed something along the lines of “Lord, give us a desire to know you and to seek you above all else. Thank you for the talent that you have graciously given Victor. You are so amazing.” So on, and so forth.

When I say amen, Victor starts praying. “Thank you for putting us here, God. Thank you for what you’ve given me.”

We talked some more. I asked if he had a Bible, and points to his bag on the bench. “I keep one in there when I go places. It’s in there now.”

I tried to give him the 21 day challenge, and I told him that if he wants to do it, I would pray for him every day for those 21 days. He said “Why don’t you just pray for you, and I’ll pray for me.”

We shook hands and left. Of course, there was a lot let unsaid here. There was a point when my friend Julie was talking with us. There was another point when another guy started talking to us, but we couldn’t understand him.

I would seriously urge you guys to join with me in prayer for Victor.

The awesome thing is, this kind of situation isn’t uncommon when sharing the gospel. People desire to know Jesus, but are unwilling to follow through because of their sin. We had a good, gospel conversation.

A few prayer suggestions:

Pray that Victor comes to the knowledge of Christ, and that he is drawn to the Bible that he carries. Pray that he begins to have faith in Jesus so that Jesus may be able to say to him “Has no one condemned you? Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.” Pray that his eyes and heart are filled with the realization of the beauty of God. Pray that someone else will come to him without judgement to share the gospel with him. Pray that God pursues him and the gospel will be a broken record in his head.

As a final note, please realize that when I am saying “without judgement,” I mean that I am not condemning him. I do not mean that you can’t communicate the judgement of God.

“Before we can see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.” — John Stott