Editor’s Note: This is the first of our November Thankful Thursday posts. May reading it remind us all to be thankful for the work God has called us to do, as well as for those God sends to represent Him around the world.
Autumn is falling upon Oklahoma, my friends. Our state experiences perhaps a two-week stint of Fall before Winter comes crashing in with it’s cutting wind and biting cold (maybe not that violently, but it comes, nonetheless). But, oh, how that brief season of Fall boasts. From Van Gogh shaming sunrises to Jane Austen-esque mist over our ponds and lakes. Our neighborhood trees are engulfed in a flame of red and orange leaves as our grass browns like a churned lake bed.
Seasons are funny when you think about them. We change so much of our lives to reorient to whatever season we find ourselves in. Our wardrobe changes. Our habits change. Our weekend activities change. Our hairstyle may change. Our daily routine even takes a hit to a degree. Life is not unlike this shift in calendar seasons.
We may experience as many as 25 season shifts in a year, or even go 25 years without a shift in our apparent season. As Autumn rolls into Winter, there are many people experiencing a page turn from their former season of life to a new one. One such group of people will be recognized and commissioned at an event on November 12th at Oklahoma City’s Quail Springs Baptist Church. At 6 p.m. that night, dozens of missionaries will gather on the stage as part of the International Mission Board’s Sending Celebration, in correlation with the Oklahoma Baptists’ Annual Meeting (November 11-12).
These missionaries, soon to don the field as individuals, couples, and families, will face this vastly different season of their lives with Oklahoma Baptists gathering as one Church to pray over them. This new season will find them in a new country with a new home, surrounded by new faces. Can you imagine?
I want to encourage you to attend this Sending Celebration! Here’s three reasons why you should consider making the drive…
You can be a Sender.
David Platt and John Piper have always said that, as a believer, you have three choices… 1) Go, 2) Send, or 3) Disobey. What better way to send these missionaries off than by being present for their commissioning and standing in solidarity with them? If the drive is too much or there are other restraints, please consider setting a reminder to stop and pray for the missionaries that night at 6pm. Mary Slessor, a late 1800s missionary to Nigeria, once said, “If you are ever inclined to pray for a missionary, do it at once, wherever you are.”
You can start the holiday season well.
Like it or not, Thanksgiving and Christmas are well on their way. Don’t let the holiday season pass you by without giving adequate thought to the important things in life…like God’s Kingdom. Pack up your family, small group, or even your whole church, and come to the Sending Celebration. What a wonderful way to set your heart and mind on things above, just in time for the holidays.
They need you.
Missionaries are often inappropriately viewed as some kind of super Christians or a people with a “higher calling”. This false thinking is not only keeping “ordinary” people from answering the call to missions themselves, but it is also keeping the American church from meeting the needs of those normal believers answering in obedience to a calling to serve overseas. I wrote a blog once on how William Carey viewed this very topic and you can find it here.
These missionaries are brothers, sisters, daughters, and sons. Imagine the joy in their hearts when, at this Sending Celebration, they look out from the stage and see a jam-packed sanctuary of strangers, family, and friends, joining as one body to praise the Lord and commission His servants. Wow! Come. They need you.
Dear reader, seasons come and seasons go (Isaiah 40:8). Commit your time and effort to the things of God’s Kingdom (Matthew 6:33). Find comfort in His work in your life (Romans 8:28). Savor the season (Psalm 145:5-7).
To learn more about seasonal challenges that missionaries face, check out another blog I wrote around this time last year.
To learn more about the Sending Celebration, check out these resources:
— Q&A with International Missionary Board President (Podcast)
— Missions Minded
— A Celebration of "Goers and Senders"
Meet the Author!
Hannah Hanzel is an opinionated, passionate gal that loves sharing what God is doing in her often busy and complicated life. She strives to show God's glory in working as the Art Director for the Baptist Messenger, serving as a multi-client freelance graphic designer, and communing with CRBC. When she's not working, you can find her sipping coffee in a hammock, watching classic '40s movies, or going on an adventure with friends or family.
