I think international missionaries have at least one advantage over local church pastors in the states. Don’t misunderstand—those who leave their homeland and loved ones to relocate to a foreign country as missionaries experience challenges that most of us will never know. Those challenges can only be met successfully by a clear call from God and the prayers and support of fellow believers.
The advantage they have is one of a singular focus. Missionaries are called to a foreign land, or people group, to reach that population with the gospel. A single purpose, at least in theory, propels their life and work.
For most local church pastors, reaching their city or county is an important part of what they do but, unfortunately, it is only one item on their long list of things to accomplish.
Most missionaries are able to detail their strategy for reaching their city for Christ. Many pastors, on the other hand, cannot lay out their plan for doing the same.
What would it look like if every church pastor had a strategy, a manageable plan, for reaching their city or county for Christ. What might be included in that plan?
1. It should include other faithful partners. One thing that every missionary knows that all local churches may not know is that they need other like-minded partners to reach their city with the gospel. If you are a missionary in Santiago, Chile, with a population of 6.9 million people, you know you cannot reach that city alone. The same is true in Owensboro, Lexington, Ashland, Princeton, Bardwell and every other Kentucky town and its 120 counties. We need to work with other partners to establish a strategy to reach our cities, towns and counties with the gospel.
2. It should include prayer. Jesus told us that, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Luke 10:2a). He then called us to pray for more laborers. Every city and county in Kentucky has plenty of people to be reached with the gospel— an average of 80 percent of the population— but not enough people who are laboring to reach them. A church that wants to reach its city or county for Christ must have a group of people who are regularly praying for more workers for the mission.
3. It should include communication. Every church needs a weekly reminder that they have one mission—the Great Commission given to them by Jesus. Their mission will likely be shaped and worded to reflect their local context, but the church needs to hear it regularly. When we fail to recite the mission, it allows the church to experience mission drift where they take on a lesser mission—or even worse, multiple missions.
4. It should include intentional evangelism efforts. There is only one way for lost people to become saved people—they must hear the gospel and respond with repentance and faith. Romans 10:17 is a reminder that, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” People must hear the gospel to be saved. Any strategy to reach a city, town or county with the gospel must include some sort of gospel saturation effort. Whether this is a door-to-door campaign or person-to-person plan, there must be a thought-through strategy that includes personal evangelism training and a tracking system for those who are sharing the good news.
5. It should include celebration. Paul told the Philippian Christians, in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” God’s people are called to celebrate the great things we see the Lord doing. When leaders work together to impact a city, town or county with the gospel and they see fruit of that effort, then there should be a time to celebrate what the Lord has done.
Our mission is the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). The mission is too big to be carried out by any singular congregation, but by working together with like-minded pastors and church leaders, the gospel can flourish and pay kingdom rewards. May the Lord be pleased to use Kentucky Baptists as we work together to reach Kentucky and the world for Christ.
Dr. Todd Gray 