Missions
- After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith … (Acts 14:21-22 NAS)
As believers of the Lord, we are all called to be God’s witness and to play our role in fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Not all of us however are specifically called or set aside to be missionaries to preach to the world as the apostle Paul did (Acts 13:2-3). But to those who are called to mission work, whether as a missionary or supporter serving in the ministry, here are some lessons we can learn from Paul in planning strategies to reach the world for Christ.
When on his missionary journeys, Paul frequently evangelized in places of prominence such as the chief cities, cities of provinces, centers of government, main trade routes and other strategic places (Acts 17:16-21). This, of course, does not mean we neglect the unpopular or non-strategic places, but it does mean it helps in reaching a greater crowd through global missions to witness to all the nations (Matthew 24:14).
Reaching out to the crowd, Paul sought to understand the mentality of the people he witnessed to. In Acts 17:16-34, Paul used a different approach in handling the Athenians as compared with the way he handled the Jews in Acts 23:1-11.
Follow-up is important and an essential area for preserving the brethren in the faith. Without follow-up and discipleship, the brethren may backslide and be in a worse state than before (2 Peter 2:21). Paul understood this and returned to the cities of which he had witnessed (Acts 14:21-22; 15:36).
Keeping in contact with the home church or sending organization to report on progress of ministry is also important. Paul reported his progress to the church which sent him (Acts 14:27), and in so doing encouraged new and old missionaries as well as future missionaries.
In short, the strategies of approach to missions are:
- Preach in strategic places, yet do not neglect the non-strategic
- Seek to understand the people we are witnessing to, and then decide on the right approach
- Follow-up on the work that had already begun
- Report to the home church or the sending organization on progress regularly
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
Reader Count & Comments
Date
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com. This is especially true with articles that
deal with personal healthcare and prophecy. We encourage the reader to make their own decision in consultation with God, His Word, and others as needed.
This article has been read 2495 times < Previous | Next >
Read more articles by Edmond Ng or search for other articles by topic below.
This article has been read 2495 times < Previous | Next >
Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.