Heaven will someday host a gathering more diverse than any our world has ever seen. John saw it and gave us a small glimpse: a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, standing before the throne, worshiping the One seated on it. The Father’s will is that all should be saved, that none be missing from that multitude. His mission is that we join with Him to reconcile the world to Christ, so that His vision for creation may come to pass and all may be present when that multitude assembles.
The question for our global Church of God of Prophecy family today is this: what role will we play in the mission of God so that His will may be accomplished through us?
I am honored to serve the Church of God of Prophecy as the new Director of Global Missions Ministries. As I step into this role, I do so with gratitude for the many generations of missionaries, national leaders, pastors, and congregations who have carried the Gospel to the ends of the earth, many times at great personal cost. I am committed to connecting the hands of our churches, pastors, and members, one to another, so that God’s mission can be accomplished through His body. I am inviting you to join in what the Father set out to accomplish, continue in the work that Jesus began, and go where the Spirit of God is already going.
The State of the Church
The Church of God of Prophecy is a global family. Collectively, there are more than 14,000 organized churches and missions with over 16,000 licensed ministers actively ministering across 137 nations around the globe. From Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world, to the remote mountains of the Himalayas in Nepal, from refugee camps in South Sudan to regions of the Amazon in South America, the Church of God of Prophecy is present, preaching, and serving.
I also believe that God is not finished! Across our global family, doors are opening in places where the Church has never had a voice. New congregations are forming. New leaders are being raised up. In some communities in Nepal, our churches remain the only Christian witness for miles. In nations affected by war and civil conflict, we have watched God sustain revivals and keep churches ministering through crisis. The harvest is laid out before us, but the question that rang true for Isaiah now rings true for us as well: “Who will go?”
Our Vision: Prayer, Presence, and Provision
We believe an invitation has been extended to every believer and every congregation to participate in the mission of God. Jesus calls us to be His witnesses “unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). That commission was not given to the global missions office, however. It was given to the Church. Our vision is to see the people of God actively engaged in God’s mission for reconciliation through three primary areas of partnership: prayer, presence, and provision.
Through prayer, we intercede for churches, leaders, families, missionaries, and communities of faith around the world. Prayer is not a preface to mission; it is mission. When a congregation in the Bahamas intercedes for a congregation in Belarus, Brazil, or Bermuda, something happens in unseen places that no manmade strategy could ever accomplish. We are committed to being led by the Spirit. Every initiative must be preceded by prayer. Every need must be laid before the Lord. Every good thing He provides must be returned to Him in praise and thanksgiving. Church of God of Prophecy family, would you join us in partnering in the mission of God through prayer?
Through presence, we build relationships across cultures, serve alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ, and make ourselves available to go where God sends us. God’s global mission does not operate in one direction. God is raising up faithful men and women from everywhere and sending them to the ends of the earth. His Spirit may be stirring you to cross borders and cultures, but presence is not merely measured by miles traveled. All of God’s people play a part in His missional mandate to go, and there are ways you can walk with us in that mandate today. Be present for missions services in your church and share about the work God is doing among the nations. Attend your conventions and district services to build community. Finally, be present for the International Assemblies where you are able to see a small scale of that multitude John saw as well.
Further still, in response to Bishop Coalter’s biennial address at the 103rd International Assembly, the Global Missions Department is actively working to make mission-sending opportunities through the International Offices a reality for those who have discerned the call to go beyond their borders. I look forward to the day when I can invite you to go and be a part of what God is doing in another part of the world. Church of God of Prophecy family, would you join us in partnering in the mission of God through presence?
Through provision, we faithfully provide the resources needed to strengthen ministries, equip leaders, care for missionaries, support churches, and respond to practical needs. Our stewardship is an act of worship. Provision is not charity flowing from the strong to the weak. It is the body of Christ, joined together, supplying what each member needs so the whole body can fulfill its calling.
There are ways you or your church can walk with us in this expression of the mission today. Through Harvest Partners, your church can prayerfully partner with a nation and provide support for national leaders and strategic projects. Through Helping Hand Ministry, you as an individual can give toward construction, transportation, disaster response, and other needs across our mission network. Through One Child Fund, churches and individual donors can support children in our orphanages and children’s homes. Church of God of Prophecy family, would you join us in partnering in the mission of God through provision?
The Ministry of Reconciliation
The mission of God is the ministry of reconciliation. Before the foundation of the world, God willed to reconcile all things to Himself, and He has done so by way of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul writes that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, and that He “hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19). At the cross, Christ made peace “by the blood of his cross . . . to reconcile all things unto himself” (Colossians 1:20). What God has willed, Christ has accomplished, and the Spirit now applies throughout the earth.
We who have been reconciled are now invited into the very same work. Paul calls those who have been redeemed ambassadors for Christ, and that we now go out proclaiming to the lost, “be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20). An ambassador carries no message of his own but represents the One who sent him.
This is how we participate in the mission of God today. Every prayer offered for the lost, every relationship built across cultures, every gift given to strengthen a struggling nation is participation in this one great ministry of reconciliation. I am not trying to recruit you to be part of a program; I am trying to convince you that you are an ambassador of the King.
The Invitation
The October Mission Drive is a tangible way that we can take up this ministry together. This month, churches across our movement will pray for the nations and give to strengthen national ministries, equip leaders, and care for those serving in some of the most hostile places on earth. If your church has given faithfully for years, I want to say thank you. If your church has not participated in missions giving before, there is no better season to begin. The mission of God is not simply reserved for some. It is something that belongs to us all.
I do not know every door that God will open in the years ahead, but I know the One who opens doors that no man can shut. I believe God is preparing the Church of God of Prophecy for a season of missional engagement greater than we have ever known. Heaven’s multitude is still assembling. Until the last man or woman at the very end of the earth has the opportunity to join the chorus of the multitude, may we be found faithful to the call: reconciling the world to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.
For prayer and giving resources tailored for this October Mission Drive, visit us at globalcogop.org.
CLICK TO WATCH THE GENERAL INTRODUCTION AND INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE OCTOBER MISSION DRIVE.
CLICK TO WATCH A RESOURCE THAT IS ABLE TO BE SHARED PRIOR TO A SUNDAY MORNING MISSIONS OFFERING.
