How Serious Is Your Church About Missions? Part 6 of 6 Churches Must Train Their People

According to Ephesians 4:11 and 12, specific leaders in the church are given to equip the saints for ministry work. This is a clear call for all churches to prepare Christians in their gathering to serve Christ. The implications of this certainly help to serve others locally and to work in other areas of the world. The great commission should be a central goal of every church and, therefore, should be training Christians to fulfill it. There are also commands for Christians to teach each other. We see this in James 5:19 and 20, Romans 15:14, and Hebrews 10:24. These passages clearly demonstrate the church's responsibility to train Christians to serve in ministry.

Additionally, when passages like Colossians 3:16 are considered, we see a broadness of who should be teaching that the church does not usually accept. Teaching one another is a critical element in scripture that the church often overlooks. It takes all of the members of a church to function as God intends. When nurtured and encouraged, this creates the greatest opportunity for Biblical change. 

It must be noted that very few church gatherings can teach to the level that a seminary can. But is that the standard God calls us to follow? The Bible calls for the church to train the saints; therefore, the church must not yield this responsibility to academic institutions. The reality is that some people will not be able to attend a seminary, which becomes much more of a reality for areas of the world with low economic status or access to higher education. It is also evident from the few people willing to go to foreign fields for missionary work that the church is not producing enough people who are ready and willing to go. Therefore, the church must rethink training the saints and be empowered to be more intentional with Biblical training. 

Some would argue for the absolute necessity of cross-cultural training before an individual can go to another country as a missionary. But, the reality is that many non-Christian people travel around the world and relocate successfully to other cultures without such training. Is the average Christian supposed to assume that non-Christians can relocate to foreign cultures and thrive and that a Christian cannot? What cannot be missed is the church's responsibility for ensuring people are trained to serve God locally and globally. A gathering of believers is uniquely equipped to provide love, care, direction, and the support needed to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. God has promised us that we have everything we need to faithfully serve Him, 2 Peter 2:1. However, the church must be willing to trust Him and His promises.