Knowing God, Taking Action

by Jeff Anderson

At ACTION’s International Council meetings last March in Alberta, Canada, Daren Beck, ACTION missionary in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, said that ACTION needs to trust God for missionaries of character, conviction, commitment, calling, courage and compassion. Since then I have been working with Daren’s statement because I agree 100% with the elements that make a fruitful cross-cultural servant of God. Here are the basic definitions of each quality from my dictionary:

• Character: reputation of moral excellence
• Conviction: an unshakeable belief
• Commitment: carry into action, pledge or assign to some particular course or use
• Calling: strong inner impulse toward a particular course of action, especially when accompanied by conviction of Divine influence
• Courage: moral strength to persevere and withstand danger, fear or difficulty
• Compassion: sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it

The obvious question is where do we find missionaries (persons COMMISSIONED or given authority to act in behalf of a sending church) who have these qualities? I think people with these traits are found in churches and are intentionally cultivated and developed by servant-leaders who are:

• Passionate about Jesus Christ and the Great Commission,
• Compassionate for the distressed and downcast multitudes of the earth
• Realize the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few
• Are gripped by the fact that the answer to the shortage of workers is to beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers
  

ACTION is not looking for perfect men and women, but those who know their God and are moved into action for the sake of and in the name of Christ. See ACTION’s website [www.actioninternational.org] for news of various fields and a listing of personnel needs if you and your church’s leadership think the Lord Jesus wants you to step up and be sent out to a harvest field somewhere in the world.

If God has called you to missions...
Live like you're serious

Make life choices that will strengthen your walk with God. For example:

• Read God's Word regularly and be sensitive to how He is directing you
• Commit to obey God in every situation, no matter how difficult
• Make a commitment to biblical purity in all areas of your daily life

• Date those who share your standards and your vision for reaching the world with God's Word
• Pray that God will lead you to a spouse who shares your call
• Don't isolate yourself! Sharpen your skills by sharing your faith and vision with people who don't already share your worldview

Credit card and school debt delay many people from active involvement in Bible translation work. Don't lose your focus. Live on a tight budget and use extra cash to pay off any remaining loans or credit cards.

Check out Crown Financial Ministries for helpful information. Check out www.amazon.com for these resources:

• Debt Free Living by Larry Burkett
• Your Money Counts by Howard Dayton
• Free and Clear by Howard Dayton Consider a variety of schooling options.

Remember, you don't have to go to an expensive private school to receive quality training.

Practice contentment. Learn to live with as few possessions as possible so you'll be free to go places and do things when God calls. Live below your means and help support someone else involved in Bible translation [or missions].

It's easy to get so busy that we lose sight of where God is leading us. Consider writing a mission statement for your life and use this to prioritize your activities so you will be available when God calls

from http://www.bibleless.org/