I used to have this sign I made hanging by the front door of my apartment, it read "you are now entering your mission field". I put it there to remind me that everywhere I go and everyone I talk to is needs to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. However I was saddened many times when people would just laugh and think it was a cute saying, instead of taking seriously the encouragement.
For years now I have been amazed by Christians, and specifically their leadership, who feel that to be considered and mission trip you need to go out of the country. Recognizing the outward focus of American Christians, with little emphasis on the internal, it was no surprise to here these statistics during a Westminster Morning Devotion:
1) There are 195+ million non-churched people in America. Only China, India, & Indonesia have more non-churched people.
2) There are no counties in U.S. where more people go to church now than did ten years ago.
3) In the last 10 years the combined membership in Protestant churches has declined by 9% while population grew by 11%.
4) Every year 3,500-4000 churches in the U.S. close. Last year 3,500 closed and only 1,500 opened.
Still think you're not a missionary?
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