GFA World and the Life of a Christian Missionary
It is easy to think about the life of a Christian missionary as being far removed from us. Weren’t missionaries thought of as people, sometime in the past, who went to share God’s love in other countries? That picture can make the calling feel sealed off in history.
Many believers have heard testimonies of Christian missionaries like William Carey. He founded a ministry society and translated the Bible into dozens of South Asian languages and dialects. They may also think of Mary Slessor, who worked in Nigeria, saved hundreds of children from death and set up a mission hospital. CT Studd worked in several countries over many years of his life, as Christian Today profiles.
The missionary life Carey, Slessor, and Studd lived carried the Word of God into hands that had never held it. That same conviction still carries the Gospel of Jesus Christ forward today. Such faithfulness is still needed in every generation.
Why Missionaries Are Still Needed Today
The stories of Carey, Slessor and Studd may have occurred in the past, but they are encouragement for us in modern times. Many people groups still have never heard of Jesus, and Romans 10:14 asks how people can believe unless someone goes to tell them. Missionaries are not just inspiring people from the past; they are still needed today to share the love of God with those who do not know Him yet.
Missionary researchers document that around 3 billion people live in communities with little access to sharing the Gospel. More than 6,700 people groups have almost no Christian witness, which often means no Christian neighbor who shares the local language. That is the kind of need missionaries are answering today.
How Acts 1:8 Describes the Call
Acts 1:8 still frames missionary work by showing that witness begins nearby and keeps moving outward. The verse says, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Every term missionary serves somewhere along that path, whether the work begins close to home or far away. The commission does not shrink when the distance does. Acts 1:8 keeps the whole calling in view, from the nearest neighbor to the farthest nation.
Most people do not live in Jerusalem, Judea or Samaria, so what does this verse mean for modern day Christian missionaries? There are several kinds of ministry described here. The pattern helps believers see how witness moves from familiar ground to faraway places.
- Jerusalem ministry serves people who live nearby and share a common culture and socioeconomic setting.
- Judea reaches culturally similar people who live farther away.
- Samaria points toward neighbors who live close by yet feel culturally or economically different.
- The “ends of the earth” refers to distant places where people share no common ground with the missionary, as this missions guide explains.
For believers in the United States and beyond, international mission is not a different love from local witness. It is the same obedience carried across a greater distance. Only the distance changes; the love does not.
How National Missionaries Serve Their Communities
The life of a Christian missionary is not easy, but men and women choose to do it because of God’s love for them and for the whole world. GFA World supports national missionaries who serve among their own people.
These men and women minister among those who’ve not yet heard the Good News. They are hand-picked and trained to establish churches where there are none. They also help meet the physical needs of people in countries of Africa and Asia, providing help and hope in the name of God.
A local church planted by a national worker can become a gathering place for the community. Families find belonging there, along with a reason for hope that grows through shared daily life.
National missionaries are ideal to minister in these areas because they can move more freely in countries and cities that are restricted to outsiders. They are also usually accepted in the communities. They know the cultural taboos instinctively, and they have already mastered the language or can easily learn a related dialect. They live in the community, eating the same food, wearing the same clothes and sharing the same cultural interests as the local people. Most importantly, they have a passion and a burden to serve their own people, as GFA World describes.
Long term missions give community bible study time to take root because the worker stays long enough to return, listen and keep teaching. That kind of mission field work rewards years of preparation and turns a first encounter into shared life.
What Taj’s Story Shows About Missionary Hope
One example of GFA World’s national missionaries’ impact was in the “forgotten islands” of South Asia, remote outposts along the shoreline. Although they looked like tropical paradises at first glance, the need ran far deeper than the scenery suggested.
The villagers used oxen as transportation and washed themselves, their dirty clothes and their dishes in the same stagnant ponds they drank from. They had no clean water, no schools and no medical clinics. Life seemed hopeless, and improvement seemed impossible for the people on the islands.
Those forgotten coasts held families who had never heard a steady word of hope. They did not need admiration from far away; they needed someone willing to come close and stay.
Then, a GFA national missionary, Taj, led a team of people to change all that. They traveled from island to island by boat. They brought hope and the Good News of God to islanders who were desperate for help. Their hands-on, compassionate care built strong bonds as they prayed for the sick and showed the love of Christ.
The team launched a branch of GFA World’s Child Sponsorship Program on the islands. For the first time, the kids had a chance to go to school. That first chance gave them new hope and purpose for the future. Taj also prayed for the resources to help the water situation.
The answer came in the form of several Jesus Wells, giving thousands of islanders access to clean water for the first time in their lives. In just two years, Taj and his team were able to bring hope and the Good News to dozens of islands. They shared God’s love with everyone they met, including the boat drivers who transported them between islands.[1]
In those islands, the promise of Jesus Christ sending His witnesses to the ends of the earth became visible. Taj and his team went where the need was, and they stayed long enough for the work to take root.
Consider how you might help these men and women Christian missionaries serve full time. You can stand beside national missionaries trained by GFA World as they meet the physical needs of those around them. Their work is difficult, but it brings hope in Christ to people who need to hear it. You can help support it for $45 a month.[2]
Learn more about the faithful Christian missionaries who serve at GFA World
[1] “Forgotten Islands No Longer Forgotten – Revolution in World Missions Book.” GFA World. YouTube. October 13, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKFr5wWIc1A.
[2] “National Missionaries: Sponsor a National Missionary.” GFA World. Accessed November 24, 2024. https://www.gfa.org/sponsor/.