2021-02-07 – Year B – World Mission Sunday – The Rev. Canon Christopher M. Klukas
Genesis 12:1-3; Psalm 86:8-13; Matthew 28:16-20
The Great Commission
- Genesis 12:1-3 – Blessed to be a blessing – Go!
- God didn’t save you to keep that blessing for yourself, he wants you to share it.
- There is no treasure greater than a relationship with the Living God! By sharing this treasure you lose nothing and those who receive the gift gain everything.
- Abp. Foley Beach – “What part does God want you to play in taking the gospel to the ends of the earth? In other words, where are your “missional feet” taking you? Are your feet walking to an elderly neighbor’s house to check on them during the Covid isolation? Are they taking a few bags of groceries to the local food pantry to help those food deprived? Are they under your desk as you participate in a Zoom conversation with a global partner or as you pray with other Anglicans on a Global Prayer Call? Our feet, including mine, haven’t boarded as many airplanes or walked on foreign soil for as many mission trips last year, but we need to keep our focus outward, praying about where our physical and spiritual feet can take the gospel to our dark and hurting world in 2021.”
- Acts 1:8 – You will be my witnesses
- Go
- Send (pray, support, encourage)
Local (Jerusalem)
- First Coast Women’s Services
- “A Christ-honoring pregnancy resource ministry in northeast Florida. Offering hope and help to thousands of women in our area facing unplanned pregnancies. Reaching out in love to provide truthful information, emotional support, practical assistance.”
- Clay County Rescue Mission
- “…seeks to provide hope to families, and individuals that need help with their basic needs: food, shelter, and clothing. We want to be a light for those hurting, while sharing the love of Jesus.”
- The Gideons (Local Bible Distribution)
- An international organization made up of local chapters.
- Young Life – Clay County
- “invites kids to follow Christ, cares for them regardless of their response, and changes lives in the process. We build trusting relationships with teens and demonstrate God’s love and faithfulness as they walk through adolescence. Teens are our business and we crave to show them what life is about with Jesus.
- Young Lives – Clay County
- Video
National (Judea and Samaria)
- Nate and Erika Twichell (Agape Year)
- “Inspiring the next generation to seek God’s heart for the least, the lost, and the uninvited. Agape Year is a gap year for recent high school graduates who are eager to see God’s justice roll down like waters at home and abroad.”
- “At our Thanksgiving meal our Fellows shared what God had been teaching them so far this year. One Fellow shared that they have learned how to love others, even when that person is not easy to love. What a gift! Another shared how God has been growing their capacity to forgive. We heard stories of learning to trust God, stories of growth in capacity to serve, and stories of growth in love for scripture. Although our Fall didn’t look like what we had planned, God was using it to prepare room in their hearts and lives for Him and for His kingdom. We do not serve a passive God. He is actively at work in our lives, especially when we have to surrender our plans to Him!”
- Trinity School for Ministry (Training Mission-Minded Leaders)
- “an evangelical seminary in the Anglican tradition. In this fractured world, we desire to be a global center for Christian formation, producing outstanding leaders who can plant, renew, and grow churches that make disciples of Jesus Christ.”
- Anglican Relief and Development
- Video
Global (The Ends of the Earth)
- Hunter and Stephanie Van Wagenen (El Camino)
- God has called them to a church in our diocese, Christ Church Vero Beach. They will continue their work on the El Camino in a different way by leading short term mission trips. They are no longer raising funds.
- Paul and Karen Davis (France)
- COVID has been very hard on France. Right now masks are mandatory nationwide and there is a daily curfew at 6pm. Many businesses are closed and France may be headed for another nationwide lockdown.
- Just like here, churches have learned to stream their services, meet in small groups with Zoom, and set up prayer chains with WhatsApp.
- Karan continues her English class outreach by video-conferencing.
- We coach and mentor by phone and video-conferencing, and we visit the churches in the area whenever possible.
- Lilian Wachuka Memorial Clinic (Kenya) – Play video as I talk
- Founded by Jannie Gichia who trained the initial staff and remains in contact with the church and clinic.
- New systems for gathering water from a local river, storing it in large tanks, and purifying it so that it is safe to use.
- In January they provided services to 1,083 new clients and 1,016 returning clients.
- Iris Children’s Home (South Sudan/Uganda) – Photos
- Living in rented facilities. They have now acquired land with water and are in construction for their new facilities in Uganda.
Unreached People Groups
- Brent and Kim McHugh (Christar, Spain)
- Christar International provides visionary, executive and developmental leadership to the Christar network through serving God, Christar workers, and the least-reached by shepherding the cooperative ministries of Christar in order to cultivate Christ-honoring transformation in least-reached communities. Brent ministers in Malaga, Spain as the International Director of Christar. Kim works in the areas of team development through coaching, for the purpose of strengthening teams in the network.
- Gospel for Asia (India)
- Video
Conclusion
- “What part does God want you to play in taking the gospel to the ends of the earth?”
- Go
- Send
- Romans 10:14-15
