Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Matthew 28:17-20
This is Jesus’s last instructions to his disciples before he ascended to heaven, it must be pretty important. If you are like me, growing up in the church, you’ve probably known you should tell others about Jesus but did not often do it or even know how to tell others about Jesus. I tried a few times in High School and College but it never went very well. But I have always felt a calling to serve the Lord in foreign missions. I figured it would be easier tell tell others about Jesus once I got to the mission field.
Boy, was I wrong!
I did not end up going for a very long time. Before we got married, my wife and I, both felt called to missions and had this idea in mind to begin after we got married but nothing ever panned out for us. We made many inquiries but did not find an opportunity in foreign missions for a long time. It was as if God was telling us “Go to Nampa!” Nampa? Nampa, ID was my hometown, it was familiar, comfortable, and … boring. Did it have to be Nampa? In my mind I wanted an exotic location that would be new and exciting. But we did go to Nampa. For many years we did children’s ministry. We ran good news clubs in after school programs at public schools. It was a pretty good time. We’d have kids come in who’d never heard the name of Jesus before. We’d do games, songs and bible lessons. Essentially it was Sunday School in a public school. So this is what we did for many years and at the same time we were raising our own children. But we always had foreign missions in mind and explored a few opportunities, even going on a short term trip to India, none of them seemed right.
I’ve always felt a little jealous of Abraham and Paul and other people in the bible who had a very clear call from God of when and where to go. Pail had a vision of a man from Macedonia telling him to come to Macedonia to preach during one of Paul’s missionary journeys. Abraham heart the voice God calling him to leave his country and people and to go to a land He would show him. Such a clear calling would be very nice. Some Christian missionaries do have dreams or visions from God showing them where to go, but it often doesn’t work like that. Often it’s simply a strong desire that leads to exploration until it’s obvious its the right fit. This is how it worked for us before we moved to Romania.
We had a chance to visit Romania as part of a family trip to France. While we were planning the trip we contacted an old friend who was Romanian and she put us in touch with a pastor who we stayed with. Our whole family bonded with their family and we were able to visit 3 churches in the 4 days we were there. While we were there it was obvious that God was calling our family to move to Romania. Our children said it felt more like home than our own home.
After the trip we began making plans but there were delays. Finding a mission organization to go with was difficult. Covid put a damper on things. What really set us back was a car accident our whole family was in. On a road trip to Oregon we were T-boned pulling out onto a highway. I and my wife were life-flighted to Portland. My wife had a fractured pelvis in 4 places and it’s a complete miracle that our youngest baby Timmy is with us now because she was pregnant with him at the time. I had facial reconstructive surgery for a fractured jaw and a brain injury. I had to eat a liquid diet for many weeks. Needless to say it took many months to fully recover which delayed our move. The accident happened about a month before our flights were scheduled to leave. We had sold most of our furniture and were almost packed-up. We were further delayed by the premature birth of our baby, Timmy. It wasn’t until May, 2021 that we were actually able to move to Romania.
Some missionaries say the first rule of mission work is you never actually end up doing what you originally planned to do. This proved true for us. We planned to work at a Christian youth summer camp but camps were still not happening in 2021 because of the global pandemic. So we focused on learning Romanian and getting to know our neighbors. We lived in a small rural village of about 300 people. Our children attended the public school in the village, we hoped that they would learn the language and be able to build relationships with other families in the village. Learning Romanian didn’t go as well as we hoped but we did make many connections with families living in the village.
We attended the local Baptist church and eventually started a kids club similar to the one we ran in America. We met on Saturdays and it was at the church instead of the school but we were able to invite all the students from the school and many of them attended. Members of the church helped us with the language and it would have been impossible to do anything without them. Partnering with the local church was essential and it has allowed the children’s ministry to continue even though I am stuck in prison.
I don’t want to give you the idea that everything in Romania was all smoothing sailing. There were many difficulties. The bureaucracy of the country was overwhelming. Not as bad as the BoP but it was close. Obtaining our residence permit took many visits to the immigration office and we even had to leave the country for a few weeks while we waited for the paperwork to be done. Every Christian at some point will face discouragement and there was a time I was incredibly discouraged and depressed. Eventually I realized I needed to stop worrying and trust in the Lord. He was the one who called us to Romania and He would take care of us. He would take care of the residence paperwork, everything needed to provide for our finances, our kid’s education, all the things I was worried about. He took care of everything after I started trusting Him.
The best parts of Romania were all the good people we met there. After all, the whole reason we were there was to minister to people. We met many Christians and were able to visit at least 6 different churches. Whenever we visited a church, even if we knew no one there, they would always ask me to preach or share some word for them. It was common for many different people to share in a service and they usually lasted 3 hours or longer so there was plenty of time for people to share. Preaching was not something I had much experience doing but I did my best, always praying the Lord would give me the words to say. Even now I don’t feel so comfortable preaching, but I think it’s getting easier for me. I was grateful in Romania that I preached through a translator because it gave me time to think of what I was going to say next as they were giving the translation.
So that’s an overview of my experience in Romania, let’s get back the great commission. The last 4 instructions Jesus gave his disciples has 4 parts from the 4 verbs used in the sentence:
- Go
- Make disciples
- Baptize
- Teach
The Greek uses the main verb matheteusate for ‘make disciples’. The grammatical structure makes this the primary verb in imperative or command form. This means the primary instruction is to make disciples. The other parts are how to actually make disciple — go, baptize, teach — are all about how to make disciples. For the first part, ‘Go’, implies some amount of action is required on our part. Most of us actually don’t have to go very far, and for us in prison right now, we can’t go far. When you are in our hometown you can actually be a more effective missionary than I was in Romania. You know how to speak the language. You know how to get around town. You have many connections in the city. Our first week in Romania I was struggling just to buy groceries, not that money was a problem, just that everything was new and foreign. Even if I or another missionary attempted to reach your home town they would not be as well equipped as yourself. They would not know the people you know and could not go the same places that you would be able to.
The next instruction is baptism, which is an outward sign of an inward change. Disciples are not made by dunking people in water. It is a product of a person’s decision to follow Christ. It is a public act that shows someone’s commitment to follow Jesus.
The next instruction is teaching, teaching them to obey all I have commanded. Where can you find everything God has commanded? Right here in the bible. I’ll admit, it can be hard to understand sometimes but the important parts, everything necessary for our salvation, is not hard to understand it it is repeated again and again.
So that’s the essentials of the great commission, ‘go’, ‘make disciples’, ‘baptize’ and ‘teach. If you’re like me, having heard similar sermons to what I’ve said so far, you’d still be struggling, “How do we make disciples?” How do we tell others about Jesus? I have heard other pastors would talk about how ever who does not know Jesus is destined to go to hell, so there’s an urgent need to tell people about Jesus. I struggled for a long time to know what to say to friends or strangers. I would like to teach some of what I have learned. First we’ll start off with what not to do.
Preach the gospel at all times, use words if necessary.
St Francis of Asisi
I know some Christians who believe they can witness just through their lifestyle. While it’s true following Jesus’s commands is important if we are going to to teach them, words are still necessary. They are always necessary. So what words should we use? Let’s try some examples. [A volunteer joins to role-play some scenarios]
Me: Hey, man, do you know where you will go when you die?
Stranger: Ummm, no, I don’t much think about that.
Me. You’re a sinner and your going to hell!
Stranger: Woah, who are you? Leave me alone!
Such words often have the opposite of the desired effect. Sometimes focusing on sin and punishment is effective but usually such words turn people off to the gospel. In the same way it’s a bad idea to attach someone’s current religion. Even if they are deceived and following a lie, it’s best to tell the truth about Jesus rather than tell them everything they currently believe is a lie. To get an idea of better words to use we should look to the bible:
> When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with the demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
- Nothing except Jesus and Him crucified
- Start with Jesus, start with his love, share John 3:16 or a similar verse.
But really any successful ministry starts with prayer. Pray for the words to say, pray that hearts will be opened.
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.
1 Corinthians 3:6
In the end it is God who makes things grow. I feel relieved at this thought because I can never say the perfect words but I don’t have to. The Lord is the one who does the work in the end. He makes things grow.
Let’s try this again:
Me: Hey, man, can I ask you a question?
Stranger: Sure, I guess.
Me: Can I pray for you?
Stranger: OK
Me: What could I pray for?
Stranger: Well, my wife is going to have surgery on her heart soon.
Me: Wow, that sounds really awful, I’ll pray for her. What’s her name?
Stranger: Maria
Me: Dear Lord…
This exact activity builds connections, builds relationships. It’s a start. In Romania and in my neighborhood and other countries we would simply walk around and ask people if we could pray for them. It was simple and effective. From there it can grow into a personal testimony. No one can argue with a personal testimony. They may argue about if God exists or other theological topic if you engage with them, but if you talk about what God has done in your life, they can only listen. It can be as simple as what your life was like before you met Jesus, How you met Jesus, and what your life was like after you met Jesus. Paul followed this model when he testified before king Agrippa. He talked about how he persecuted Christians, How he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, and then how he preached the gospel around the world to the gentiles.
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Isaiah 6:5-8
I preached this 1/17