Catalyst Track: Reaching the Unreached // Day Two

This track comes from Peyton Jones’ book, Reaching the Unreached.

Have you noticed the scandal? The missionary stories recounted by bored Christians are only told in hushed whispers over our coffee like rumors from a strange land. Sure, most missionaries may dress like nerds, but they live like spiritual Jedi. As foreign missionaries unfold the tales of their adventures, such as smuggling Bibles into China, or into Russia before the fall of communism, those in the pew wonder why they’ve never experienced these wonders, but deep down they already know.

Many Christians have never left the garage and taken the hog out for a spin where they could fully open up the carburetor. Maybe they’ve never embraced the Force like young Luke Skywalker and run off half-cocked to save the world from the dark side. Their biggest thrill is rushing into Toshi Station to pick up more power converters. Deep inside, their souls yearn for something more.

Even as leaders, the day-to-day patterns we develop can hinder us from seeing those around us who are in need of the gospel. And habits can lead us to think we can keep living and giving on our own instead of via the abundant power and grace of Jesus.

If your soul IS yearning for something more, take this week to evaluate your own life and heart. 

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DAY 2 – The Missing Ingredient

 

When I was a youth pastor a few decades back, I vainly attempted to transform bored, pew-sitting Christian kids into missionaries engaged in their culture. Like most Christians, they sucked at reading

their Bibles, praying, attending church, sharing their faith, and giving their money.

 

Nothing I did was working. Then, a dramatic change came after our first short-term mission trip. I loaded all the students on an airplane and turned them loose on mission in Eastern Europe. During that trip, I began to witness a transformation taking place within those kids as they sensed God’s presence. The only difference between home and abroad was their intentionality. Like the apostles, they faced an impossible mission, felt out of their depth, and were willing to risk stepping out nonetheless.

 

On a train whistling through Hungary, I walked through successive cars to check on the high school students spread throughout its carriages. Passing through the compartments, I witnessed sixteen-year-

old girls weeping together with Hungarian families as they got on their knees and came to Christ. A young man in another carriage had his Bible open on his lap, talking to a businessman through a Hungarian interpreter. That train became a moving Holy of Holies.

 

God was in the house. You could feel him.

 

From that trip forward, God’s presence and the thrill of the adventure catapulted those youths from spectators into active disciples of Jesus. No leader ever had to tell them again to read their Bibles, pray, serve, or give. Prior to this experience, nobody had ever told them why they should. Now they knew why, and it had to do with fulfilling bigger purposes in their lives than just themselves. It had to do with mission, and these things were tools necessary to accomplish it. But beyond that, they hungered to do these things now, because they understood how desperately they needed to walk in the presence of God, and because they were enjoying him, they were no longer bored.

 

REFLECT:

 

Recall a time when you experienced God’s presence working through you for others.

• What was that experience?
• How had you positioned yourself to engage in that experience?