Last week two men from my church and I traveled to Wake Forest, NC to a conference for college students that focused them on missions. I know, I’m not a college student, but I still feel like I look like I’m 17 (no comments please). Anyway, there were some great speakers and break out sessions covering a wide range of topics.

Before the conference started on Friday evening, we were able to visit a church that had recently constructed a children’s building. It was beautiful, and we were able to pick up some invaluable tips (i.e. we need to have lots, and lots, of storage).

The last sermon that we heard was from a missionary who was commissioned somewhere in the world, and his name was not given (for his own safety). If the people were to find out that he is a Christian they would kill him and his family. I rode home thinking about this man and his family, and the danger he lives in every moment of every day, yet he proclaims Christ and is making inroads in a heavily Muslim and hostile area of the world. Needless to say, when I pulled up to my new home, two cars, children waiting to hug me as I came in, and in a free country, my heart went out to the many around the world who preach Christ only to have those things taken away.

There were a couple of statistics that got my attention:

90% of all missions are in countries that already have the gospel, thereby leaving 10% of missionaries in countries who have never heard the gospel. 95% of all pastors serve in the United States. That leaves 5% of the total number of pastors to cover the rest of the planet. Are that many really “called” to serve in suburbia? But, the question is not “why should we go,” the questions is “how can we justify staying.” And does it really matter where we go?

My heart is to get our church involved in something, somewhere, with people who have never heard the name of Jesus.

You can hear these messages for yourself at www.sebts.edu/chapel/chapelMessages.cfm