For Clarkston International Bible Church (one of our new One Village partners) ‘overseas’ has come right to their doorstep.
Clarkston, Georgia (on the outskirts of Atlanta) is known as the most ethnically diverse square mile in the United States. Also referred to as the “Ellis Island of the South” and the “Refugee Settlement of the South,” their neighbors come from over 60 countries and speak over 100 languages.
What is a missionary?
Traditionally a missionary was considered someone who crossed a border to share the message of Jesus… someone who looked more like these two women in Japan:
Today those lines have been blurred...
- Students go on short-term trips
- Christian businessmen split their time in other countries
- Millions of Christians connect online
- A local church holds a "service day" for refugees in their city...
Are all of these people missionaries too?
Evangelists, missionaries, or just good Christians?
Are the volunteers and staff who work with refugees everyday in Clarkston, Georgia missionaries, evangelists, or just good Christians who help people?
And does what we call them even really matter?
David Platt provides this definition of a missionary:
A missionary is a disciple of Jesus set apart by the Holy Spirit, sent out from the church to cross geographic, cultural, and/or linguistic barriers as part of a missionary team focused on making disciples and planting a church (or churches) with the goal of spreading the gospel among unreached peoples and places.
Platt continues by clarifying that, “Every follower of Christ has been sent out by Jesus to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). At the same time, there is evidence in Scripture that some Christians were uniquely sent out from the church for a particular purpose.”
For example Paul in Romans:
"...so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.” This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain... (Romans 15:18–24)
Does it matter?
The population of Clarkston, Georgia was 14,756 as of 2020 and continues to quickly rise. Only 32% of the Clarkston population consider themselves as “Christians”. This means there are 64% non-Christians living in the city (there are 6.3 million in metro Atlanta and 76% consider themselves Christian).
In Clarkston, “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” indeed!
- Evangelists
- Pastors
- Missionaries
- Good Christians who simply help people…
Whatever you choose to call them, we need more of them! If giving more people the label 'missionary' encourages them to share about Jesus, I think the negatives far outweigh the positives 🤷♂️.
