Most Sundays, our experience of the Church is understandably local. We worship with familiar people, sing familiar songs, pray together, study Scripture, and serve in a community we know.
But from its very origin the Church was never meant to stay local.
Around the world, Christians are worshiping the same God in different languages, cultures, traditions, and circumstances. Some gather in places where following Christ comes at considerable personal cost. Others are serving in modern cities where the challenges look remarkably different from our own. Their food, language and customs may be different, but even more fascinating is seeing how those cultures shape the ways believers worship, pray, serve and share their faith.
That is part of what makes our Global Missions Celebration so valuable. For an evening, we get a glimpse beyond our own experience and into what God is doing through His Church around the world.
Scripture gives us that same global picture. Jesus sent His followers to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19–20), and Revelation gives us a picture of where that mission is ultimately headed: people from every nation, tribe, people and language gathered before the throne of God (Revelation 7:9–10).
This Sunday evening, some of the people helping us see that picture will be familiar faces.
Greg and Elizabeth Muth will share about the year they spent serving in Botswana with their three boys. Chaplain (Major) Caleb McCary will share about ministry among soldiers and their families at Fort Jackson.
We’ll also hear from missionaries connected to East, Central and Southeast Asia, as well as Europe. In fact, some of our guests serve in places where sharing the Gospel carries enough risk that we cannot publish their names or photographs. Their stories can only be shared with us in person.
And perhaps that makes the opportunity to hear them even more meaningful.
These missionaries are taking time while home to sit with us and tell us what they have seen God do. Simply showing up gives us an opportunity not only to learn from them, but to encourage them—to listen to their stories, pray with them, and remind them that the churches supporting and praying for their work have not forgotten them.
For one evening, we have the opportunity to look beyond Columbia and celebrate our small place in something much bigger.
Please register here for our Global Missions Celebration this Sunday, October 4, at 5 PM in Boyce Chapel where we will worship, pray and hear firsthand stories from missionaries serving around the world. The celebration will continue at 6 PM in Ellis Hall with dinner and more time to meet and interact with our missionaries.
Come listen. Come pray. Come celebrate what God is doing among every tribe, tongue and nation—and be reminded that we, too, have a place in the story of His global Church.