You don’t have to be a missionary to, well, be a missionary.
Liz Jackson is the daughter of two full-time ministries. Her parents serve in Budapest, Hungary. Unlike them, it isn’t her “job” to explain Christ to other people. But she still does it.
A duel-enrolled student of Kansas State University and Manhattan Christian College, Liz says, “The Great Commission is for every Christian, not just for those who happen to live internationally. Some raise support; some get a paycheck. Where you live and how you are paid have nothing to do with your calling or purpose: making disciples.”
“At school, I go to several political clubs at K-state and have made a lot of friends through attending. As we become friends, I ask them about their religious beliefs and usually get an opportunity to explain mine to them as well. I have had the opportunity to share the gospel with many students through this. I enjoy it because there is the foundation of a long-term relationship, and that enables me to have many conversations with these other students and answer lots of their questions. Also, I hope that my life and love is an example to them for Christ, so the gospel is echoed in both my words and my actions.”
Ellyn Pupero is also a college student, at Purdue University.
“A person working at Walmart can just as easily be used by the Lord as someone who is working in the slums of Africa - it's all about our heart condition and whether or not we are choosing to be used by God,” says Ellyn.
Last semester, Ellyn met Leah, a classmate who also lived a few doors down from her. Interested in spiritual discussions, Leah joined Ellyn’s Bible study and continuously heard about having a personal relationship with Christ.
“After 8 months of being intentional with Leah, finally, on March 21, 2012, Leah surrendered her life to Christ,” says Ellyn. “It couldn't have happened without the Lord's strength and it was only through Him that Leah gave over control to Him, I'm just so thankful He used me in the process.”
David Fenz has a similar story. David met an exchange student from Austria, named Matthias. Over lunch, Matthias thoughtfully answered David’s spiritual questions, explaining that he thought he was a 6 on a scale of 1-10, 10 being sure he would go to Heaven.
“He mentioned that he tried to live a good life and not harm others,” says David. “After that I asked him if I could share with him a way that he could be confident about his salvation. I read through the Would You Like to Know God Personally booklet with him, asking him questions as we went along to make sure he understood. At the end of the booklet there is a sample prayer that describes how someone would place his or her trust in Christ. I asked Matthias if that was something He wanted to do and he said that it was.”
Being a missionary has nothing to do with location. It has to do with being in God’s will: at school, with neighbors, over lunch.
“We think of being a missionary more in terms of where we are rather than what we do, and it should be the other way around,” says David. “Christ's call to us to lay down our lives is not just a command for some kind of super Christian. This joy is not something just for pastors or career missionaries.”
“I'm a missionary because I find more joy in seeing people knowing Christ and watching Him change their lives than in anything else. It's far more exciting than any Basketball Tournament, on any big screen TV, in any large house. Not that those things are bad or that the fact that you have those things makes you a weak Christian. The test is what we love; what our hearts are set on.”
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