We had a GrX missions committee meeting over dinner at Ming's today. It started from 7:30 in the evening, and didn't end until well after 10. In fact, we were locked in the restaurant due to the already-locked front entrance, until a kind restaurant worker showed us the alternate back exit. How's that for a Tuesday night off the beaten path? =)
I left the dinner tired but excited at all, having again seen God at work.
Originally, three of the four teams (Japan, Thailand, Mongolia, Mexico) that GrX was planning on sending this summer seemed to be deficent in the number of applicants, and we were wrestling with the issue of cancelling or combining them. Up until the very dinner, I wasn't sure how things were going to pan out. Lo and behold -- everything came through at the last moment, and we've filled the teams wonderfully.
We also talked about getting the GrX community more aware of missions as a whole -- becoming World Christians, throwing about ideas such as a sermon series, a survey in all the small groups, missions-related presentations every Sunday service and so forth. I was particularly encouraged to hear David mention that our pastor (also David) too wanted to see missions be integrated more throughly into the structure of the church (after all, it all comes down to him), even tring to get all the coaches and small group leaders going on a trip at some point in time.
Now, it's all up to us and God to help transform the hearts of this GrX body of 400+. The talents combined with the altruism and selfishness of my fellow church members has always struck me. Now, imagine if just a small fraction developed the same attitude towards being a World Christian -- whether as a sender, goer, or supporter -- interested in what God is doing beyond our cozy Silicon Valley.
It's encouraging to me, because the one regret that I had upon leaving Wellspring for GrX was that there didn't seem to be as much of an emphasis on missions from the very top of the pastoral leadership downwards -- it was "just another department". I am of course not faulting GrX, as that thinking is typical in most churches out there. And yet, hearing David's ideas and his meetings with Pastor Dave thus far, I'm encouraged and realize that changing this mindset amongst the GrX community, while definitely taking a lot of work, is far from a daunting one, but just like missions work itself, it is a chance for God to show His glory at work when our own is insufficient.
I'm thankful that I've got such fellow missions-minded brothers and sisters such as Leslie, David, and Christine. Like Christianity and the church itself, catching a World Christian vision starts with a small core group of dedicated people within an existing population.
It's going to be hard, for sure -- and I admit, being in this role in real life, I don't really know where to start, despite having heard many a speaker and reading many a book about missions.
In a way, the current "mission field" for me is right here, within my own church. And I was reminded how opportune this moment of my life was at this time and still is right now, when He called me to unexpectedly stay in the Bay Area and GrX.
I'm more and more convinced that mobilization is a part of the reason whatever it may be, although I never saw myself as a mobilizer or interested in it. As this hits me, I remember 5 years ago, about God calling me to try a short-term missions trip for the first time, although I never saw myself as a missionary or interested in it at all. From that first trip, I saw God change hearts, and now, I am not afraid to ask this question: how will He develop and grow this body to be aware of the world out there?
I know God will -- we just have to see how.