Christ’s last command should be our first priority.
Matt 28:19-20 is often referred to as the Great Commission. We like to call it the Great GO-mission. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
We are in the midst of our annual Missions Week: “Experience Missions ’18.” Last weekend I shared our vision with regard to our Global Church Partnerships, and this weekend we will have several missionaries with us. Seven years ago God gave us a vision to reach farther, wider, and deeper. In addition to supporting 80 missionaries and missionary projects around the world, we felt directed to establish Global Church Partnerships in each of the six major missions regions of the world: Africa, Northern Asia, Asia Pacific, Eurasia, Europe, Latin America/Caribbean. In addition to these geographic regions, we have formalized a seventh GCP for Medical Missions. This GCP allows us to partner with Dr. Pat Rees and go through open doors all around the world in the name medical compassion.
A Global Church Partnership of BCA goes where others don’t. These are not places where people are standing in line to help. We work with local missionaries (boots on the ground) and local churches in these regions to give them a hand up and help them do what they cannot do on their own. We buy property, dig wells, build churches, train pastors, do kids and youth outreach, build or help supply medical clinics and so much more. Seven years ago all of this was a pipe dream. But today we have four active GCPs with a fifth starting this fall.
- In 2013 we took our first trip to Swaziland and launched our African regional GCP. Over the past four years BCA has led a pastors conference, bought property, built a church, conducted kids crusades and will be holding a youth conference there this summer. We’ve dug a well, built a children’s classroom/living space, shared in compassion work, and so much more.
- In 2015 we went to Sumba, Indonesia and launched our Eurasia regional GCP. In Indonesia we’ve led a pastors conference, supported all of the children (50 of them!) in the House of Hope orphanage, conducted a medical clinic, purchased a truck to deliver clean water (this is not a region where we can dig wells), provided ministry training, taught ESL, and more.
- In 2017 we went to Cuba where we helped rebuild homes for two pastors whose homes were devastated by Hurricane Mathew. With the work there, the Lord has opened doors and allowed us to launch our Latin America/Caribbean GCP. We have plans to take our first work and ministry teams there beginning this summer and will do leadership training and outreach, help rebuild churches, we’ve already purchased land to build a home for a pastor, do compassion work, and much more.
- In late 2018 or early 2019 we will take a team to Albania as the doors have swung wide open to establish a GCP in our European region. There are plans for a pastors conference, plans to partner with local churches ministering to refugees, and more.
- And of course as we’ve been building these Global Church Partnerships, we’ve supported the amazing work of our Medical Missions GCP in Gabon, Burundi, Indonesia, as well as other places around the world – with still more to come!
As we focus in on Global Missions this weekend, join with me in excitement and prayer that we will all be obedient to Christ’s call to GO!!
– Pastor Rob