We value good conversation about missions around here—dialogue that inspires and equips and moves people to engage. We’ve found some really helpful articles around the web recently that we think add to that conversation, so we’d like to interact with them and share them with you.

The Local Church Matters to Missions

David Platt has recently addressed in passing the first recorded instance of missionary sending from a local church. That sending experience was the first of many, many to come, and in essence laid the foundation for missions sending with the church at its center.

Blogger and author Tim Challies wrote a piece on his site in regards to why the local church matters, including its role in missions. The first point of his article is that the local church is the primary vehicle God has chosen to make himself known to the world, and we could not agree more. Check out the entire article here.

It is primarily though the local church that God wants to make himself known.

Politics and the Church

Politics have not garnered much real estate here on this site, even though, of late, we’ve experienced one of the most tense and hotly debated elections in recent history. David Platt penned an article about our proper response to the election in regards to mission: stay the course. The coming days, however, have the potential to see numerous politically infused scenarios that may affect the church and our ability to engage in missions in particular places.

From his experience working with Elam Ministries in Iran, Mark Howard addresses three principles to remember in the midst of a changing political climate. Central to his message is this one powerful statement:

Governments can make living out our faith costly and dangerous. But my Iranian brothers and sisters have impressed on me a deeper truth: though politics are important, they cannot thwart God’s purposes.

You can read the full article here.

Though politics are important, they cannot thwart God’s purposes.

Missions and the Headlines

Current events are an important part of the conversation here on the site. This article, in fact, is housed in the Current Events channel, which is regularly updated with events that may shape or affect our ability to engage in cross-cultural missions. Many believers, however, avoid the news for one reason or another and don’t follow current events.

Dean and vice president of Graduate Studies and Ministry Centers at Southeastern Seminary, Chuck Lawless, wrote an article about why Christians might reconsider ignoring the news titled 9 Reasons Why Church Leaders Should Read the Daily News. Whereas the article is directed toward church leaders, it also offers helpful information and application for all believers who wish to engage meaningfully in missions. A few of the reasons included in the article are: the news helps us understand the world God loves (and the world into which we’ve been sent with the gospel), missions happens in the world we read about, and following the news reminds us of the urgency of the task at hand.

You can read the article in its entirety here.