Mission Possible

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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."
Matthew 28:18-20


This week I will be traveling to Florida for the board meeting of Mission Possible, one of the many mission organizations we support as a church. Mission Possible’s motto is, “Strategic projects, in historic times, for God’s glory.” MP (www.mp.org) is active in sharing the Gospel, training leaders, planting churches, and helping the poor on the other side of the world. I am blown away each year when we review what God has done through MP and we at Christian Life are helping them change the world through our support.

But like I said, they are only one of the many missionaries and organizations we support as a church family. I would like to invite you to visit the map in our church lobby and take a look at the various ministries and people we support. Take time to read a letter or two. Say a prayer for the various ministries. Allow God to speak to you about your involvement in world missions. Become a bigger part of building God’s kingdom around the world.

And by the way, Happy Mother’s Day! I would like to honor the mom’s in my life: my fantastic wife, Leslie, my godly mom and grandma, Gerry and Ella, my great sister, Jodi, and my wonderful mother-in-law, Kathy. I am proud of you all! You are the best!

Our World

Gary Wilkerson of World Challenge confronts the church with the following statistics…

Worldwide

• 6,571,497,332 people now live on earth
• 1,200,000,000 people live on 23 cents a day
• 2,000,000,000 people have no electricity
• 80% of all people live in substandard housing
• 1,000,000,000 people are without safe drinking water
• Every 16 seconds someone dies of hunger
• 57,000,000 people died in 2006
• 10,500,000 of these were children less than five years old
• 14,000,000 children were orphaned because of HIV/AIDS
• 2,000,000 children have died as a direct result of armed conflict during the last ten years.

Meanwhile

• $8,000,000,000.00 were spent on cosmetics in America in 2005
• $11,000,000,000.00 for ice cream in Europe
• $17,000,000,000.00 in the USA and Europe on pet food
• $105,000,000,000.00 for alcohol in Europe

These statistics are not meant to make you feel guilty; I want them to raise your awareness. We can make a difference in the world. Every third weekend is Missions Weekend at Christian Life. From the very beginning of our existence as a church, we have invested in building God’s Kingdom around the world. We refuse to turn a blind eye to the suffering and the lost around the world. We will continue, to the best of our ability, to share with likeminded ministries to see God’s will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. You and your gifts are helping to change the world!

Let’s keep up the good work. Pray about your gift today. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)