The Great Commission Meets Closed Borders

GLOBAL VOICES

Jim and Kathy Hansen

This is from a recent prayer letter College Church missionaries Jim and Kathy Hansen sent to their prayer partners. Jim and Kathy served in Bolivia for twenty-five years, and now serve with SIM at Ethnos360 Bible Institute (EBI) in Waukesha, Wisconsin, preparing prospective missionaries to serve overseas.

In their recent letter, Jim and Kathy wondered:

How does the church fulfill the Great Commission when international borders are closed?

How do we make disciples of all peoples when travel around the world is restricted? The current pandemic has affected missions along with every other aspect of society, but these questions are nothing new for the church and for missions. The church has always faced closed borders and even hostile communities that resist the good news of Jesus.

When the church first began, there was persecution. The stories of the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7) and James (Acts 12) were just the start. The persecution of the church increased continually for the next 300 years. As a result, by the second century, it was rare to formally send out new missionaries and yet the church kept growing!

So, how does the church keep growing when international borders are closed, and the activities of the church are restricted?

A study of church growth in the context of the early church persecution is a good place to start, but rather than looking for an evangelistic strategy or a missions plan, the most revealing approach is to ask, “Why did so many decide to follow Jesus despite the growing persecution?” A further study of the testimonies of those who came to Christ doesn’t reveal great preaching but great living. As one early church preacher said, “We don’t preach great things, we live them.”

Again and again these early church converts tell us how they saw the power of God lived out in the lives of Christians and despite the persecutions they decided to follow Christ.

The gospel is very simple. We have all sinned against God and all of us fall short of what is required to enter his presence. But God loves us so much, that anyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness and the power of the Holy Spirit to live rightly for Christ. The proclamation of this simple truth is liberating, but it is even more powerful when we live it. Nothing can stop the gospel, not even a pandemic, when we live it!

Perhaps because we had to limit our enrollment this year (because of COVID), the number of prospective students inquiring about enrollment at EBI in the fall has risen dramatically. The enthusiasm for missionary service is encouraging, but many are also reaching out for personal help and counsel. Please pray for wisdom for our staff as they consider these applications and provide counseling.

I am very thankful that our classes have continued and that the number of COVID cases on our campus has been small (thanks to good planning and God’s grace). Pray that our Bible teaching will be more than academic, and that we will encourage spiritual growth and maturity.