In computer science, a “default setting” is a setting or a value automatically assigned to a software application, computer program or device. When I was in high school I used a program called “Microsoft Word”. When you opened a Word document, the font that was automatically set for you to use was “Times New Romans”. That font was the “default setting”. To use a different font, the user would have to go in and change the font to the one he desired.

So what does this have to do with missions? I think many of us as Christians have a “default setting” of our own. It is to “stay”. If God calls me to the mission field, I will go, but until He does I will stay. That is our “default setting”. Should God desire us to go, He would change our default setting from “stay” to “go”. I think we have this backwards. I think our default setting should be “go” and we should go with the Gospel of Jesus to the nations of the world unless God stops us and changes our “default setting” from “go” to “stay” (or more accurately “send”, but this is a subject for another post).

Is there any Scripture to back this up? Yes. The Great Commission. Matthew 28:19-20 says, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” The very first word is “GO”. It is not “STAY”, it is “GO”. Mark 16:15 says close to the same thing, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Again, the operative word is “GO”.

You may be thinking, “If everyone in my church went to the mission field that would be unhealthy for our church. We wouldn’t have anyone left.” If a church sent out so many missionaries and church planters that they were becoming smaller and smaller, that would be the best problem any church could ever have. I don’t know that this situation has ever existed. What a beautiful “problem” to have.

I encourage you, switch your default setting to “go”. It may be that God will keep you where you are now, it may be that God will lead you elsewhere in the United States or in the world. In God’s program, our default setting should be go. Let us seek to go with the Gospel to every nation, province, city, tribe, neighborhood, village, house, and soul.