A missionary call is both a wide-ranging calling and a specific calling.
“We are primarily called into a relationship with Christ.
We are called to salvation (an eternal inheritance).
We are called to a life of holiness.
We are called to a life of service.
We are called into the body of Christ.”
I am in the middle of co-leading a personal spiritual development course for missionaries in their first term of service. It’s one of OMF’s core training courses. One of the first things we think about is “calling.” The above statements are from the course.
These are true for all Christians, wherever we are and whatever we are doing. We are all called to these things whether we are in our home country or in another country, whether we preach the gospel for a living or we pick up rubbish for a living.
I think that within the wide calling to a life of service, there is a specific calling to missionary service, just as others are called to pastoral service or other areas of vocation. A missionary call is a deep conviction that this is what the God who saved and called you wants you to do. This conviction must be confirmed by the body of Christ, matched by a life of growing holiness and the other areas into which we are also called.
After I was called into a relationship with Jesus at 18, I started praying for the countries of East Asia. I also began teaching Sunday school. Then I got a job in a Japanese firm and was beginning to share my faith with colleagues. At that time I heard two sermons back-to-back on Gideon. The words that were impressed upon me were “Am I not sending you?” (Judges 6:14 NIV). My home church endorsed my conviction about missionary service amongst the Japanese and have supported me and my wife for over 25 years.
At the end of the course, I’ll have the privilege of hearing the stories of the missionaries taking the course. I’m sure I’ll hear a variety of different stories. And I’ll be inspired and challenged by God who calls us all in many different ways.
By Peter, an OMF missionary
