Month: June 2026

Where Does Scripture Talk about Missions?

Posted on by Emily Belvery

Matthew 28:19 (“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…”) is likely the most famous mission verse in the Bible – although it’s only one of the Great Commission verses. (See Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47, John 20:21, and Acts 1:8 for other iterations of this sending.)

God’s Mission, however, started long before Jesus’s resurrection and ascension and is in fact one of the central threads of Scripture – a theme running from Genesis to Revelation. 

God is on a mission to get His lost children back. 

Perhaps the first word of Gospel in the Scriptures is Genesis 3:9, “But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” God was not confused; Adam and Eve had not hidden from His presence so fully that He couldn’t find them. 

Rather, God was seeking out his disobedient children. Even though they had broken their relationship with him – trading honor for shame, innocence for guilt, peace for fear – yet He sought them out. This same God is still today seeking the lost – the foreigners, the exiles, those far away and without hope (Eph 2:12) – and calling them to Himself with a word of grace. “Where are you?”

Mission comes from the Latin word for send (v. mittere or n. missio) and when we read Scripture with eyes open for this theme, we see on every page that God is a God of sending.

God sent prophets, judges, and kings to His people. 

  • God told Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:14
  • “And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety.” 1 Samuel 12:11
  • “And Samuel said to Saul, ‘The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel,’” 1 Samuel 15:1

God sent Christ to seek and to save the lost. 

  • “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Galatians 4:4-5
  • “And Jesus cried out and said, ‘Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.’” John 12:44-45

God sent the Holy Spirit to His Church, to indwell believers and to teach, comfort, remind, bear witness, and empower them for mission.

  • “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” John 14:26
  • “Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” Galatians 4:6

And God sends the Church – every believer – to participate in His Mission.

  • “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’”  John 20:21
  • “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’” Luke 10:1-2 

From the moment Adam and Eve sinned, God has been seeking the lost and sending people to participate in this mission with Him. God desires all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), and he desires people of every nation, tribe, people, and language to come into the family of God by faith (Revelation 7:9).

So what does all this mean for you? Today?

  1. From the Garden of Eden, God has been on a mission to bring people back to Himself. This is still his mission for you and for all the peoples of the world.
  2. Scripture is the story of this mission. Reading with an eye for mission throughout the Scriptures (not just after Jesus’s ascension) gives a more complete picture of who God is and what He is about. 
  3. You have a part in this mission. No matter who you are or what your gifts or career, you are one sent by God to bring people back to Himself. Ask Him to show you where and how He is sending you today (and in the future) and to give you courage to follow!
  4. As you go, know that you are sent as part of a long story of sending. You don’t go alone. Jesus is still on mission (Acts 1:1). God has sent you the Holy Spirit to dwell in you. And you are sent together with the Church – the cloud of witnesses that have gone before you and the saints who live now across the world.

Encouraged & Prepared for the Journey

Posted on by Emily Belvery

Every year in May, Mission of Christ Network hosts New Mission Partner Training (NMPT) – a weeklong training focused on equipping new mission partners and specialists for their time of service in the foreign mission field. Training topics range from ‘Barriers to the Gospel’ to ‘Culture Shock’ to ‘Insurance’ and everything in-between.  

Hear from Mission Partners (L to R below) Katherine Moser (Taiwan); Seth & Kirstie Skogerboe (Central Europe) and Mission Partner Specialist Chris Schwanz (Africa) about their experience at NMPT:

What’s one thing you learned at NMPT that you will take with you onto the field? 

Katherine: One thing I learned while at NMPT is that the only certainty God desires in our lives is that we be certain of Him. It is a hope and an encouragement to know God is the one that creates faith in others, not us, and He continually directs our steps when we seek to do His will.  

Seth: Considering the implications of honor/shame or fear/power paradigms for one’s understanding (and presentations) of the Gospel isn’t just helpful for relating to Christian brothers and sisters in other cultural contexts; it allows for crucial perspective on the full wealth of God’s gift to us in Jesus’ death for our life. We are not only innocent of our sins by Jesus’ blood—although we are that!—but freed from their eternal hold on us, and honored and glorified in Him. 

Kirstie: Something that will stick with me from the sessions on partner care is the importance of building elements into a healthy routine now that we can translate onto the mission field later. While I think I’ve developed healthy rhythms of self- and family-care, I realized many of them are dependent on living where we do right now. I’ve already started adding in some new wellness routines that I am confident will make the transition with me! 

Chris: The opportunity to break out of the worldview which I have been limited by and be opened to how incredibly large God is when seen through the worldview of another culture.

What’s one way you feel more ready to enter the foreign mission field after NMPT?

Katherine: One way I feel more ready to enter the foreign mission field after NMPT is having the reassurance that it is by God’s grace that we are privileged to take part in planting and watering seeds. We don’t always get to see the outcome, but that’s not the point. God simply asks us to be present with people, prayerfully and fervently seeking opportunities to intentionally proclaim the Gospel.

Seth: All of the logistical work we did with our field lead figuring out financial details and discussing our psychological and interpersonal profiles was a huge relief to me. We trust God to lead us into and through the dark, but it’s so helpful to go into this trip with our eyes open!

Kirstie: My greatest anxiety in going on the mission field has been leaving family and disrupting our own immediate family’s sense of stability. But one of John Mehl’s sessions, where he shared several deeply moving stories from his own family’s experience sharing Christ in Russia, re-contextualized my concerns in light of the immeasurable worth of knowing Christ and helping other people to know him. I have more courage now. 

Chris: The time we spent together in God’s Word, prayer, and meditation affirmed what I have been feeling and thinking about taking the next step into cross-cultural Gospel proclamation. 

What were you encouraged by at NMPT?

Katherine: I was encouraged by the fact that God wants our hearts, not for us to just “go through the motions.” It’s as we go about our day-to-day lives that we are called to be His disciples, and God calls imperfect people to be His witnesses and to point others to Him. Thus, He asks us to simply trust Him and to always be ready to give a reason for why we have the hope that is in us.

Seth: Knowing that the friends we made at this training will be praying and in the Word along with us as we serve in our respective fields was a real encouragement. 

Kirstie: Primarily the staff members, who were not only interested in our commitment to missions, but in our life stories—not just in our evangelistic “success” but in our family’s health, stamina, and faithfulness to God’s calling—and not just in our comfort, but in our dependence on Christ and love for His mission. My husband and I were also profoundly encouraged by the stories of our fellow missionaries-in-training and how God has led each of them to their respective ministries. 

Chris: For me it was the “who” I was encouraged by at NMPT. The collegiality of those who were new and not new was refreshing, inspiring, positive, and supportive. After spending the week together, I would partner with any one of them to wherever God would call us.