Contribute | World

Contribute | World

March 25, 2019 |


God has given us one life to steward, so how shall we spend it?

About 12 years ago my husband and I started to feel uneasy as we began to learn about something that would change us forever: God’s desire for the nations. Of course we knew that God loved the world and sent Jesus to die for the world — but we began to learn facts that we just couldn’t shake; that over 2 billion people on this earth have not only not heard the gospel, but have virtually no access to the gospel. This means they will never meet a Christian, they will never hear the gospel, and they will never have the opportunity to accept Christ.

The lostness of the world should not just burden individual hearts or missionary hearts, but it should burden the church’s heart. This burden for the world should not press on our hearts to weigh us down, but rather to spur us to action! If we feel the weight of lost men and women and children throughout the world on our hearts, God is surely working in us.

Scripture makes it clear that God does not want us to keep the gospel to ourselves, but rather it is His very plan to bring people from every tribe, tongue, and language into his Kingdom. “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:15) In fact, Jesus’ last words were about taking the Gospel to the nations! “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,”. (Matthew 28:19)

God has given us one life to steward, so how shall we spend it?

For my husband and me, this would mean selling nearly everything we owned and moving across the ocean from Iowa to a country of 1 billion people, most of whom have never heard of or have very little knowledge of Christ Jesus.

How will God’s desire for the nations move you? As Christians, we have been commissioned by Jesus to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. How can someone in Iowa be apart of reaching the nations?

  1. Pray. Consider praying for missionaries that your church supports or “adopt” a nation or people group to pray for. Joshua Project is a great resource to help introduce people groups who need the gospel.
  2. Welcome. There are many people living in the Cedar Rapids area that are from these hard to reach nations! You don’t have to travel around the world to find them, they are living right in your city. Invite them to your home, befriend them, and share the gospel.
  3. Give. Did you know that when you give money to Veritas you are also supporting missionaries? Veritas has been so generous to support our work as we bring the gospel to the nations. We have also been so blessed by generous Veritas members. While we were visiting Iowa this past winter, a Veritas family let us borrow a car, and many members treated us to coffee, meals, and gave us a place to stay in their homes. What a blessing to us and to other missionaries! Ask your pastor how you can be more involved with giving if God puts it on your heart.
  4. Go! Yes, you can go to the nations as well! Perhaps God is moving in your heart to move overseas as a missionary. Talk to your pastors about this. Are you a college student? Sign up for a summer mission trip (and come help us in our ministry!).
  5. Veritas Cedar Rapids, thank you so much for supporting our mission work overseas. We have now been on the field for nearly 6 years, and we are so thankful for your partnership in helping us reach university students and our city of 14 million people with the Gospel. You have prayed for us, given to us, and some of you have even come to join our work. How will God continue to work in your life to bring about his Great Commission?

God has given us one life to steward, so how shall we spend it?

“Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” – C.T Studd