Steps to Finding the Lost (Part 4)
Reposted from the Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others website. Original blog post written by Manik Corea, C4SO’s Global Consultant, and posted on December 6, 2022.
This is the last in our series on steps to finding the lost. In the previous parts (which you can find here, here and here), we saw that there are 3 essential steps to reaching the lost. Being aware and seeing that people are lost without Christ, praying to God for laborers for the harvest among them and finally, taking actionable steps to “send and go.”
I would like to end with some practical steps that we as C4SO churches collectively can take.
Jesus famously called Simon and his brother Andrew to “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” This is extended in Mark’s Gospel (Mark 1:17; 16:15) via the apostles to all of us to take the gospel to the whole of creation—that is, the entire world. We are all called to be fisher-people!
But what did Jesus mean when he said “fish for people”?
Fishing in the American context often calls to mind lone souls on a single boat in still and placid rivers or lakes, waiting for one fish to bite and be reeled in at a time. We have our spiritual equivalents of one-on-one evangelism through friendship and the personal impact of our lives by word and deed.
Yet, when Jesus called Simon and Andrew to fish for men, he was talking to bona-fide fisherman who owned and used multiple boats with collectively-held nets to gather in the catch.
Fishing in biblical times was a communal activity. And so, the disciples would have understood Jesus to be calling them together to bring people in the oceans of the world into the “net” of his kingdom rule and reign. Indeed, they would become adept and empowered to do so under his expert formation. Jesus promised to “make them to be” fishers of people. Jesus will transform us as we follow him.
We see in Acts and early church history that everywhere disciples travelled or were scattered throughout the Roman world, they took the Gospel—by proclamation and demonstration. Apostolic teams and ordinary believers alike became the means by which God spread abroad the blessings long promised to Abraham for all peoples, now fulfilled in Christ through the making of bona-fide disciples.
Indeed, if every Christian made just one other disciple this year, and we all continued to do the same all of us year after year (i.e., each disciple reaching and making one other disciple a year), exponentially we would reach all the people in the world in 32 years!
What’s Stopping Us?
Jesus calls us to a world-sized mission, but few of us are obediently and effectively making other disciples to reach the world. John Wesley famously stated that “the world is my parish.” As someone has countered, it is often the case today that we believe and behave the opposite: that is, “the parish is my world.”
Is it any wonder then in a Lifeway Poll last year, the vast majority of the thousand pastors surveyed indicated that fostering connections with unreached peoples and addressing the apathy or lack of commitment in their congregations were among the top three issues that needed addressing in their churches?
We need to see the “send or go” imperative to reach lost people for Christ, as not only a personal call to a selected few, but a divine invitation and calling to all of us.
What’s stopping your church from having a transformational effect on the community you’re in, as well as partnering with other organizations and churches to effectively prepare and send our people out on mission to the world?
Getting Started
Here are a few practical ways we can begin to be involved in the work of “going and sending” as churches.
1. At Provincial Level
The Global Mission Initiative (GMI) is a provincial-wide effort to encourage and support global mission opportunities and partnerships. Through partnering, sharing of information, networking, conferences and diocese-to-diocese sharing of resources and information, the GMI intends to raise the profile and participants of ACNA churches in global mission. Jeremy McNeese is one of our C4SO Diocesan reps to the GMI. He writes:
Each week we pray, “And now, Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord.” This initiative is a response to this prayer as a call to action. The GMI seek active ways to help individuals, congregations, and dioceses engage in cross-cultural mission. One of the great strengths of the Anglican tradition is our communion, and the mission in one diocese can often be a transferrable concept to other dioceses.
We know that currently, C4SO parishes have partnerships or send parishioners on mission to 25 distinct countries, which is 12.82% of the world. But we in the GMI are seeking to partner and support this number growing in all our dioceses. Talk to me about it. Together we can do more!
2. At a Diocesan Level
Under the leadership of the Rev. Jonathan Kindberg, our diocese recently launched our own Diaspora Network.
America is a great melting pot. We are used to hearing this, but we live in a day when this is more true of the United States than ever. There are a great number of immigrants, refugees, expatriates and students from many nations seeking a permanent or temporary home within these shores. On top of that, in most American cities and many towns, diaspora churches and communities are to be found—this affords us many opportunities to effectively engage with people who need friends who care. Here, you will also likely find diaspora churches where people of different ethnicities worship the Lord in their own languages and way. These immigrant congregations can be partners with us in reaching people from their own and other communities.
Connect with Jonathan to find out how as a diocese, we can work together to know, help and grow our outreach and partnership among diaspora peoples and congregations near to us.
3. At a parish/local church and individual level
You and I can do 3 simple things:
a) Pray for global missions to be a growing priority in your church and in our diocese. Look and notice those who are far from God around you, and pray for laborers for God’s harvest among them (Luke 10:2).
b) Preach, teach and reflect on the fundamental priority of God’s mission in the life and ministry of your life and church, not only on World Mission Sunday.
c) Connect with me directly, Jeremy of the GMI orJonathan of the Diaspora Network for ideas and resources to get truly engaged with and in support of God’s mission.
Together, let us be fishers of all people as we follow Christ.
Rev. Manik Corea is Global Consultant for the Diocese of C4SO, and former Global Executive of the New Anglican Missionary Society (NAMS). After 13 years church-planting in Thailand, he and his family returned to their native Singapore for a new season of global mission.