Inspire, Summer 2008

24 summer 2008 Call 1-888-CEDARVILLE (233-2784) or visit www.cedarville.edu/graduate for registration information. Cedarville University’s graduate program is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools ( www.ncahlc.org) and the Association of Christian Schools International. “If you stop growing today, you stop teaching tomorrow.” — Howard Hendricks Earn your M.Ed. at Scholarships for alumni and Christian school teachers make our affordable . New ACSI convention and online options, mentoring faculty, and convenient modules make it the right choice ! Worldwide Devotion by Dr. Don Grigorenko While so many of us see warmer months as an opportunity to relax and go on vacation, many Christians consider the summer an ideal time to be part of a short-term missions experience. So it is fitting to consider the mission task and ask how we can become mature, global followers of Christ. Let me offer three suggestions: First, sharpen your mission focus. Begin by asking a very basic question: What is mission? I believe mission is participating with God in restoring lost humanity to fellowship with Him; and He has charged us with taking the message of restoration to those to whom it is unavailable. A couple of features of this definition are worth highlighting. Notice that mission is God’s thing. We participate with Him as He actively draws men, women, and children to Himself. Also, it stands or falls on a clear, relevant presentation of a message of restoration through Christ. And although central to this message is personal salvation, it touches every dimension of life: family, work, social engagement, economics. No stone is left unturned if the Gospel is given free rein. Finally, missionaries seek to initiate a movement of the Gospel among the unreached. This is quite a different task from straight-up evangelism. Missionaries are trailblazers, bringing the Gospel to places where it is not. Mission is following the apostle Paul’s example “to preach where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Rather, as it is written: ‘Those who were not told about Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand’” (Romans 15:20–21). Second, grow in your understanding of your world with special attention to unreached people groups. A great resource for this is the Joshua Project. Visit their website, www.joshuaproject.net , and explore, read, and pray for those groups with spiritual needs. Familiarize yourself with countries like Bosnia, where the tragedy of war has left an abiding hatred between communities, making ministry difficult. And last, engage another culture where you live. I recently read that the number of Hispanics living in the U.S. is greater than the total populations of Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia combined. More Latinos live in the U.S. than Canadians in Canada. Fifty-five percent of short-termers routinely go to Spanish-speaking countries, but few will engage the Latinos in their own communities, learn their language, and bring the message of redemption to them. Of course, you can take many other steps toward becoming a mature, global follower of Jesus, but these three will start your journey. Dr. Don Grigorenko currently serves as associate professor of Bible. You may contact him at grigored@cedarville.edu . “Those who were not told about Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.” Romans 15:21 “We participate with Him as He actively draws men, women, and children to Himself.”