“One cannot transform a world except as individuals in the world are transformed, and individuals cannot be changed except as they are molded in the hands of the Master.”
There are all kinds of missions works done all around the world. Great and noble things are done in the name of Jesus, of which I am thankful for. But with all of these very different things going on, the question that comes to my mind is “What is the biblical method for missionaries?”. I think a clear case for church-planting can be made as to the biblical method for world evangelism. After all, the book of Acts goes into great detail as to how the Gospel reached different cities around the known world, and almost all of it was done by church planting! Even so, there are different philosophies as to what the “most effective” strategy for church planting is. I read a book some years ago called “The Master’s Plan of Evangelism” by Robert Coleman. This book changed my life! Jesus is the best example we have in reaching all the world with the Gospel.
The natural questions that you must ask yourself is, what did Jesus do? Jesus poured His life into 12 men (and one of them would be a betrayer). To put it in the words of Robert Coleman, “Men were to be his (Jesus) method of winning the world to God.” That’s it! He loved on, taught, walked with, ate with, stayed with 12 men who He constantly challenged, corrected, and guided for 3 or so years. This wasn’t a class or institute. It wasn’t a “let’s meet next Tuesday by the Sea of Galilee and discuss your homework” sort of thing. It was life on life discipleship. The disciples saw Jesus act and react. They saw Him perform impossible miracles, they saw Him baffle the wise, they saw Him comfort the poor broken one. They were instructed by the Master! Jesus would give them tasks and then hold them accountable (like sending them out in Matthew 10). After Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus commissioned the 11 (along with others that had followed Him). This “commissioning” can be found in a few different places, but Matthew 28:18-20 is the one that I think of first. What is this commissioning? Essentially, it is Jesus saying, “Guys, what I have taught you, you go out, reach people, and do the same thing to them!” That’s it! Go reach people and pour your life into them.
What is the method of biblical missions? It is reaching and training! Our desire is to train men in Argentina to reach Argentina and the world with the Gospel of Jesus. It is not making a name for ourselves, but building others up! In reaching the world with the Gospel in our generation, we must lift Jesus up and build others. The world will not be reached by one missionary, but by men who pour themselves into others who will go out and do the same. It is this, never-ending cycle that we will one day see every single soul engaged with the Gospel of Jesus!