How do you measure success? The world looks at bank accounts, houses, prestige, degrees earned, or your position in the company. The athletic world looks at scores, games won, and championships attained. The church may look at membership rolls, worship attendance, the number of baptisms, or the size of buildings. All of these things are indicators or “marks on the measuring rod”. But true success is obedience to God. How can you be more successful than obeying God who created and sustains us, and calls us to obediently join Him in the work?
There are more than one hundred successful missionaries serving in Kentucky through the Mission Service Corps. These Mission Service Corps missionaries are having an impact in all areas of ministry through local churches, institutions, associations and individual ministries. In terms of ministry opportunities, the sky’s the limit with Mission Service Corps missionaries because each one has a special ministry that fits their giftedness and uniqueness. Each missionary felt God’s calling on their life to do the specific ministry they’re involved in.
Mission Service Corps missionaries are committed to long-term mission service (4 months or longer for at least 20 hours per week) and are either self-funded or supported by partners while on the mission field. Successful Mission Service Corps applicants are carefully screened to serve in specific ministries and following approval, are commissioned and participate in an orientation prior to their placement.
If you want to be obedient to God, and therefore successful, prayerfully consider if God wants you to be a Mission Service Corps missionary by asking yourself these questions:
- Have you felt an unusual moving and/or stirring of God in your heart?
- Has God alerted you to see or hear of missions and/or ministries that you could perform?
- Has God placed in your heart a strong desire to help others?
- Are you available to serve, either by going someplace or by remaining at home?
- Did the Lord call you previously to missions or a special service and you were not able to or did not respond?
- Has God assured you that He will provide enabling for all He may call you to do?
If you answered “yes” to several of these questions, you are aware of God working in your world and He may be calling you to serve as a Mission Service Corps missionary.
Let me encourage you to…
- seek guidance from God’s Word,
- talk to and pray with your pastor or Associational Mission Strategist,
- discuss your feelings with family members, and most importantly,
- pray, asking God to show you what He is doing and how you can be a part of it.
The genius of the Mission Service Corps missionary structure is that every Baptist can be directly involved in missions. For some, involvement means responding to go; for others, it is providing so that someone else may go. For still others, being involved means praying for those who go and their partners; and for many it is a combination of these.
Mission Service Corps missionaries won’t climb the corporate ladder, become a celebrity, be featured on ESPN, or make as much as Bill Gates, but they will be successful if they serve the Lord with gladness by answering His call to go. Will your response be, here am I, send me?
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