A young man sold his business, and on his own initiative moved his family to another country to work with missionaries. He supported himself with his own resources for a while, but eventually the money began to run short. He later returned to his home country and made application for missions appointment to the country of his burden. In telling of his experience he remarked, “I found out you can go without being sent, you just cannot stay very long.”
The idea of being sent for a special purpose or mission is a biblical concept. Consider the following examples:
—God sent His Son into the world to bring salvation (John 3:17).
—Jesus sent His apostles into the world to carry on His work (John 20:21).
—The church at Antioch, at the prompting of the Holy Ghost, sent Paul and Barnabas to preach the gospel in other areas (Acts 13:1-4).
—The Apostle Paul wrote, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?” (Romans 10:14-15a).
The process of a missionary being sent to take the gospel to other lands involves not only a sending Lord, but also a sending church. While a missionary needs to feel a sense of divine calling and mission, there is also a great blessing in being sent by a body of believers who are joined together for a common purpose.
First of all, the missionary receives support from the sending church. This support includes the following:
Secondly, the missionary is accountable to the sending church. Everyone needs to be accountable to someone, and that includes the missionary. Many times he is isolated in his field of labor, and it could be easy to develop a lone ranger mentality. A United Pentecostal Church missionary has the security of the Global Missions board overseeing his work, and he is accountable to the sending church in the following areas:
I am thankful for the opportunity to be a missionary. It is a privilege to be called by God, and to be sent by the United Pentecostal Church. I am grateful for the support we receive from the church, and I appreciate the security of accountability to the church. Truly, there is a blessing in being sent.