Reach People
We can worship God and Build believers, but if we’re not actively
endeavoring to reach people, then we’re not a church. As our Pastor
likes to say, we’re just the local YMCA if we’re not
endeavoring to reach people. This is not a job relegated to the Pastors and
leaders in the church. This is a commandment by Jesus to all of us. We are all
commanded and called to reach people.
The command has to do with the obedience
of actually going to reach people. The call has to do with the where (more than
one place by the way) of going.
In Acts 1:8 Jesus says to his disciples, “you will receive power
when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Here at
Parkway we seek to obey Jesus’ command by endeavoring to reach our
neighbors and the nations. Every group, from our Adult Bible Study Groups to our
Student ministry, is asked to be involved in reaching our neighbors and the
nations. It is not neighbors or the nations. It is not neighbors first, then the
nations. We seek to reach both.
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The Joshua Project has estimated that there are roughly 16,500 people groups
in the world. However, the truly scary statistic is that nearly 7,000 of those
people groups are considered “unreached people groups.” In
other words, they have no access to the Gospel either through missionaries,
churches, Bibles in their languages or the Jesus Film.
Jesus commands in Matthew 28:19 to “Go therefore and make disciples
of all nations,” and as followers of Christ, we have a responsibility
to follow Christ’s command. If our goal truly is to make disciples of
all nations, or people groups, then the statistics show that we have a long way
to go. Based on the numbers provided by the Joshua Project, 40% of all people
groups are unreached. If you were to have one person from each people group form
a line, four out of every ten people would have no chance of hearing the Gospel.
We want to encourage you to PRAY specifically for unengaged people groups with
us everyday. Who knows, God may call you to go be the one to carry the gospel to
this unreached people today!
GOD CALLS US TO HIMSELF, THE REST IS JUST GEOGRAPHY.
~ Anonymous
Prayer should permeate all aspects of our lives. John Piper writes in Let the
Nations be Glad, “Prayer is the open admissions that without Christ we
can do nothing. And prayer is the turning away from ourselves to God in the
confidence that he will provide the help we need.” The short and sweet
is that God calls ALL Christians to the mission field; the only thing for us to
pray about is which field it is we go to. The one certain thing Jesus implied in
ALL his conversing with His followers was that they would be GOING (and He would
go with them). There weren’t some who went and some who
didn’t. They all went…either across the road or across the
world, they went…so should you.
How to Pray for Missions
- My prayer should not be if I give, but how much I give.
- My prayer should not be if I go, but where I go short term.
- My prayer should not be if I go as missionary, but where I go as a missionary.
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Acts 1:8 Global Missions Offering
The Acts 1:8 Global Missions Offering is used each year to support reaching our
neighbors and the nations. Each year, half of the total of this offering goes to
directly support the IMB missionaries (also known as the Lottie Moon Christmas
offering). These resources will be used to more effectively support members of
Parkway Baptist Church sent out of this faith family - both mid-term and
long-term missionaries.
Additionally, the Global Offering will support Parkway members' mission
organizations, strategic partnerships for the ultimate goal of church planting,
and financial assistance for short-term team members.
If you are interested in donating specifically to the Acts 1:8 Global Missions
Offering, you can dedicate
your donation by
placing Acts 1:8 Global Missions Offering in the name field.
Support a Team Member
Many Parkway’s mission team members would not be able to go to the
nations without the help of generous contributions from people like you. These
gifts are over-and-above our budget giving.
If you are interested in donating to a specific team member, you can
dedicate
your donation. Please include the name, trip date
and location of the team member you would like to support in the name field.
Other Ways to Donate
You may also bring a check to the church office during regular business
hours. Please make your check payable to Parkway Baptist Church. If you would
like to specify where your donation should go, please include a notation in the
memo line for Acts 1:8 Global Missions Offering or that states "appealed by
[team member's name]" and the trip dates and location of a specific
team member. Checks may also be mailed to:
Parkway Baptist Church
Attn: Mission Projects
8508 Beaver Bridge Road
Moseley, VA 23120
If you have any other questions as to how to donate, please contact Pastor
Derek –
Please visit our Give section to donate now!
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Click the link to this
Gospel Presentation
to see the life-changing message we want to tell our neighbors and the nations.
We can pray for, give to, and go to our neighbors and the nations, but we
would be lacking if we didn’t tell the good news of Jesus Christ. At
Parkway, our Bible Studies, Worship Services, Student Ministries, Children
Ministries, and especially our mission projects all exist to tell the good news
of Jesus Christ. Yes, we will endeavor to meet people’s physical needs
where it is needed, but we don’t go to spread a social gospel, we go
to tell the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We desire all members of the Parkway family to actively be telling the good
news of Jesus Christ. God commands all His disciples to go and tell!
We’ll share a cup of cold water, absolutely. But, we’ll
share that cup of cold water in Jesus name.
Proverbs 25:25 - “Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from
a distant land.”