SPECIAL MISSIONARY FEATURE You don't have to read much of On Mission to
discover one of our most important core beliefs: God wants every Christian to
be personally on mission with Him, delivering the gospel to the
world. Does that mean that every Christian is a missionary? Well, not
exactly. Some on mission Christians receive a special call from God to go from
where they are to places and people that God has prepared for them. Philip went
to Samaria and Gaza (Acts 8), Peter went to the Gentile household of Cornelius
(Acts 10), Paul and his partners went to places and people now chronicled as
the names of many New Testament books (Acts 13-28). Names like William Carey,
Adoniram Judson and Lottie Moon bring to mind more contemporary missionaries
called to specific places and people. So does that mean you have to cross an ocean or speak a different
language to be a missionary? Again, not exactly. Take for example the eight
modern-day missionaries profiled here. Their unique giftedness and preparation
now help them get past the barriers that have kept people in their mission
field from hearing the good news about Jesus. These missionaries are representative of the 4,815 who have been
appointed by the North American Mission Board (NAMB) to places of service in
the United States, Canada and their territories. During a special "Week of
Prayer" for North American missions March 7-14 thousands of churches and
literally millions of Christians will pray for these eight and for the on
mission cause of sharing the gospel throughout North America. We invite you, too, to be their partners in prayer.
Writers contributing to this special missionary feature include Jenny
Burns, Kelly Capers, Teresa Dickens, James Dotson, Joe Johnson, Lynne Jones and
Sherra Still. | 
Jim
McBride
Dover, Delaware
|