"Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance and saw Him saying to me, 'Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.' So I said, 'Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.' Then He said to me, 'Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.' " Acts 22:17-21

The Lord sent Paul to faraway places to preach Christ to the Gentiles (v.21)

The Church is commissioned to GO make disciples. The Church is commissioned to go make disciples, not merely to get people to come to church. Coming to church is great, but are we who are the Church going?

A minority of Christians are called to go to faraway places as missionaries and church planters. Most stay and serve in local churches.

A key aspect of staying is that we are to preach Christ were we live, work, and play. We come to church for worship, fellowship, and service in the Church, but the rest of the week we are to go to our mission field that is near, not far away. How are we doing at this?

A second key aspect of Staying is supporting those who do go to faraway places. We support with prayer, words of encouragement, and financial support. How are we doing at this?

We’ll consider how we can be better at supporting our missionaries to go, next time…