When you think of the term “Missionary Disciple” what comes to mind?
I wonder if your definition of Missionary Disciple is like what mine was originally. The first thing that pops into my head is a person who goes overseas to proclaim the gospel message to those in other countries where the gospel may not be so prevalent.
My thought of the term Missionary Disciple expanded recently when I encountered a prayer at a church entitled, A Prayer for Missionary Discipleship.
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Before sharing the prayer though, let us ponder the possible meanings of the two words.
Choosing from a few of Dictionary.com’s definitions yields the following:
Missionary – person sent by a church into an area to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as educational or hospital work.
Disciple- any follower of Christ.
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Don’t you agree that all Christians, as followers of Christ, are called to evangelize by the way we live our lives? No matter what we are doing, or who we interact with, we can evangelize by the things we do, why we do what we do, and how we do the things we do!
To be a disciple of Jesus means we first love Him with all our heart and mind, and live our lives pointing other people to Him. We naturally want others to have that relationship with Jesus, to love Him and worship Him with all their heart. Sharing that with others is a great gift!
Photo credit by Mars Hill Church Seattle under Creative Commons License (CC BY NC-ND 2.0)
Putting all that together, think once more about a Missionary Disciple….A follower of Christ sent to carry on evangelism!
Does that mean that YOU, my friend are a Missionary Disciple? I do believe I fit that definition!!
Wow….I AM A MISSIONARY DISCIPLE!!! I bet you are too!
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Now read this prayer which I think is a powerful way to live daily as we are a missionary disciple:
A Prayer for Missionary Discipleship
Lord Jesus, throughout Sacred Scripture you encouraged your disciples to
“seek and you will find”,
“knock and it shall be opened to you”.
Allow me, your follower,
to begin to be formed in Your Spirit by SEEKING answers through You,
being EVANGELIZED in Your truth,
being CONVERTED through Your mercy,
and being led to You to become Your Missionary Disciple,
the one You send out into our community so that others might come to know
You and accept the Kingdom of God.
I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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**Yes, we are assured in Scripture, that if we ask, seek, and knock, we will find.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” –Matthew 7:7
**Yes, we can be formed in His Spirit by SEEKING answers through Him by earnestly seeking Him in prayer continually in our lives.
**Yes, we can be EVANGELIZED in His truth by reading the Word, seeing the application of it for our lives and sharing with other Christians.
**Yes, we can be CONVERTED through His mercy by receiving God’s forgiveness through Jesus.
**Yes, may all we encounter come to know and accept the Kingdom of God because of our life and example.
Photo credit by Charlotte Tai under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Let me leave you with two thoughts to ponder this week…..
****We are all called to be a missionary to the extent we have encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus.
****We are all challenged, everyday, to be actively engaged in evangelization! If we have truly experienced God’s saving love, we have no excuse but to go out and proclaim that love to all we meet!
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A friend of mine summed it up this way:
Missionary discipleship = today making God known
however I can,
wherever I am,
to whoever is there
with whatever I have…
& tomorrow, do it again.
Live that out each day!
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So, what are you waiting for?
Go, be that Missionary Disciple today and every day of your life!
Feel free to leave a comment in the section below of ways you currently are a Missionary Disciple in your life. It will be enlightening to see the variety of ways, based on the gifts that the Lord has given us each, to see your responses. Thanks in advance for sharing and blessing!
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Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and 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 28:16-20 (NIV)
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” –Romans 10:14-15 (NIV)
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” –John 20:21 (NIV)
I used to feel that I could live out the life of a Christian, and that by my actions and kindness, people would automatically realize I was a Christian and that was my way of “evangelizing”. Although I do believe that the way we live and things we do show the fruit of what is in our heart, it takes our WORDS to truly evangelize. That is something I am really working at (and does NOT come naturally to an introvert)
Your friend is right that it is our job (and really our honor) to make God known to others – wherever and whenever and whoever!
You are right, Carol…a combination of our actions, kindnesses we show, and words are how we evangelize daily to those who interact with. It is indeed and honor to share that in all we do. Thanks for reading and blessing!