Missions

by Trisha Winter

Where do I start, missions is something new to me and I honestly still struggle with understanding what missions are. I get that it is a way for the Church to work within and outside our community helping others. However, I still don’t understand everything about it. That being said, I am beginning to understand what Missions is and what it can do to help our neighbors and the people around the world (James 1:17).

One of the things that has been pulling at my heart with missions is, how do we talk to others about God and what we believe in? How do we show our faith in God to those who do not understand or even want to try and understand our faith in God? I love to read and have always loved reading, however as a Christian I started reading books and realized that I was spending more time reading books about God and not reading what was written by God (1 Thessalonians 2:13). So, I decided to start a group on Facebook in September of 2018. The group would be a place where women would be able to read the Bible together and have a chance to ask questions and talk about what they are learning. This started out good, I had a few women join the group from Church and a few I had met in other Facebook groups. It was a slow process. However, life with my family got a little crazy so I stopped the group for awhile, then I started it back up in September of 2019. Well we can all imagine how that went when 2020 rolled around and things got even more crazy.

With all this in mind I was still reading other books and with 2020 going the way it did, I lost track of reading my Bible and was struggling with my faith as a whole. However, for my birthday this year, my husband got me a few new books and one of them hit home with me. This book was new, unlike the others I had been reading, it pulled me in to why I wasn’t reading my Bible and why I should be reading the Bible. That is when things changed for me; I knew then that I needed to get my group back up and running and I needed to find a better way to help other women read the Bible. I knew that I have a mission no matter how long it takes me.

My mission is to help women read the Bible more. To dig into God's word together, to learn about who God is through His words and not those of others. I am not saying that reading books by others is a bad thing, not at all. There are a lot of great books out there, and as I stated I love to read. My Mission is to bring the Bible back to Bible study, not just books about the Bible and things within the Bible. The Bible as a whole is a book that we as Christians should be reading (2 Timothy 3:16-17). My mission is to bring women together to read together and learn all we can together from God Himself.

Missions are great, everything we do for others is great, God is Great. If I had the chance to go around the world to read with other women that would be my mission. However, in this world during this time in my life I am unable to go around the world. My mission starts at home, a mission to gather women together to read God's word together as a family in Christ.

Let's read God's word, let's gather and help each other in any missional way we can. Let's help the homeless, feed those in need, travel the world helping wherever we can. Let's start at home within our church and the community around us. Let's have missions together.

Call To Action

Please pray, read and reflect on these scriptures this week.

James 1:17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Reflection

1. What does missions mean for you?

2. If given the opportunity what would your mission be?

3. How can we better our community through missions?

4. In what way do you share God's word and your faith with others?