The Israelites are on a journey from Sinai to the Promised Land. Rather than a book about genealogies, this book gives us the story of the gospel, and the pattern of all of time, where a second generation replaces the first. There is hope in God's mercy and covenant faithfulness. Listen to this episode and learn about four motivations for missions from the book of Numbers.

Leviticus is the central book of the Pentateuch, and at its center it teaches us an important lesson - a lesson which motivates us for global missions - the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ. Man is not justified by following the law, his uncleanness is too great. But God's unilateral grace toward fallen man makes us holy. As the nation of Israel once gathered at the one place where sacrifices were made, so now the church goes out into all the world, now already made holy by the death and resurrection of Jesus, to be holy as God is holy. Holiness is missiological.

God's people are called out of their slavery to their sinful cravings, and called to be holy, separated as the people of God, strangers and aliens on this earth. Yet, like Moses, we are called to go into the world and rescue the lost. The book of Exodus lays a blueprint of God's dwelling with mankind, and the church now is the temple of God, preaching God's word to God's people, calling believers to obedience to God. Local churches need to be obedient to God's command to go into the world and preach the saving message of Jesus Christ, the only perfect mediator between God and man who can lead his people to God's holy mountain. The imagery and typology in the book of Exodus is rich, and it has global missions written all through it. 

The book of Genesis begins God's story of his global glory. Jesus Christ completes that story. And now through the church, we get to tell all nations how they fit into that story. Beginning with God's intentions in creation, his plan for a second Adam to rule to world, and for Jesus to be everyone's hope of undoing the curse and reversing the division at Babel. The hope for all nations of one offspring from the line of Abraham starts here. And how every nation relates to this one has eternal consequences. Now we go into all the world and tell them that this hope has been born. Think with us about how to best preach missions from the book of Genesis.

There are dangers when preaching about missions, because we want to avoid reading into the text something that is not there. But how can we preach about it rightly. This episodes offers one primary way we can do that: biblical theology. From this recognition, we explore ten topics that are commonly found throughout scripture, and we see how they are naturally and easily connected to thinking about world missions. Come listen and get equipped for faithfully reading, thinking, and preaching from God's word with an aim for God's glory among the nations through the church preaching the resurrected and exalted Christ.

Is it possible to preach about mission in every sermon? Does every text of scripture lead us to this topic? Certainly you have preached or heard biblically faithful sermons where missions wasn't even mentioned. But once you start to see missions in the entire Bible, you can't help but to see it more. Consider this with us and we explore four ways to think about preaching and teaching missions from a framework of missions. You still might not mention missions explicitly, but at least you'll see the clues that have always been there.

As you get ready to leave for your missions field, here is a conclusion of last thoughts. There are some things that will prove very useful to you and your church, which are contained as Appendices in the print book:

A. Practical guidelines for security concerns

B. A Sample partnership agreement between your sending church and the sending missions agency

C. Questions for missionary candidates, usually applied near the beginning of your journey in missionary training

D. Why "church planting" is THE priority in missions

Then, some personal reflection encouraging you to keep a personal journal, intentionally build godly friendships that will span time and distance, and, finally, think about recruiting and encouraging others to joy you in eventually become your teammates in ministry on the field.

You may have come to a different conclusion of your plans to go to the missions field. Maybe you've worked hard for quite a while and found that you cannot go to the field. The doors have closed, at least for now. Then what will you do? Don't despair! God is still sovereign! He has plans to use you whether you make it to the field or not, whether you stay on the field or not. Get humble! Ask God what He has for you next. You might be surprised to find how God will use you effectively as an advocate or mentor for missions. Accept and absorb the love of your church family in helping you recalibrate the next stage of ministry in your life.

The capstone of your preparation and qualifications is the grand send-off service or weekend. Traditionally, this is called the commissioning service. You are recognized by the church as having completed all the requirements to go to the field. You are officially SENT from your sending church. It is a wonderful opportunity to praise God, thank all those who have helped in the process, and mark this milestone. Be sure to schedule some recuperation time between the commissioning and the actual travel to the field. You'll need it!

This is one of the hardest topics to deal with. Yet, historically, God has been pleased to use the process of raising personalized support, and the consequent partnership is material and spiritual, which has been the predominant means of missions ministry for hundreds of years. This now becomes an integral part of your ministry. It is not "other" than your ministry. It is a priority part of your ministry. You can find a balance. You need some help to do it. God will be faithful. Both in skill sets and in financial means, you cannot do ministry on the field without doing the support raising to make it happen.