Mission or Missionary?

Dictionary definition of Mission: 

an organization of missionaries in a foreign land sent to carry on religious work

an operation that is assigned by a higher headquarters; "the planes were on a bombing mission" 

a course of sermons and services given to convert the unchurched or quicken Christian faith.

Dictionary definition of Missionary:  
1. One who is sent on a mission, especially one sent to do religious or charitable work in a territory or foreign country.

2. One who attempts to persuade or convert others to a particular program, doctrine, or set of principles; a propagandiser.

 

I wanted to go in to the mission field. I wanted to win the lost and get out of the area I was living in. I wanted to do great things for God and get as far away from the people who knew the 'pre-Jesus me'.

 

One Sunday morning, before the service began, I was sitting in church planning how I would approach the pastor to ask him what I needed to do and how I could accomplish the task of becoming a missionary. All of a sudden, this old pastor, who began the church and was retired from full-time preaching in a church, came up to me and handed me a gospel tract. Guess what the title was? One look at it and I practically boiled over, I was so upset, mad, enraged...I couldn't even spit. The title was, "Bloom Where You Are Planted". Can you imagine? I didn't want to stay in that area. I wanted to become a missionary and go places. Make a name for myself. Boy, was I ready to blow my top!

 

A few days later, after the Lord was dealing with my heart and my mind and my emotions, I decided to read that tract. It had a beautiful flower on the front page along with those dreadful words. With trepidition I began to read that little tract, I knew the Lord had a word for me in there. He works that way in my life. Nothing happens or is given to me, like that, if it is not something God wants me to know.

 

As I read I became convicted. It told me that if I can't 'bloom where I am planted' then how in the world could I imagine I could bloom somewhere else? If I did not minister, preach (as the Great Commission states), teach, reach the lost in MY area that I am planted at this time in my life, how in the world do I think I can have an impact on people in a different nation? How could I make a difference in their lives? How could I, living in a prosperous country, think I could do ANYTHING in a less fortunate one? The answer was: I COULD NOT.

 

Needless to say, I repented and asked the Lord to help me 'bloom where I am planted' and if it was in His plans for me to go farther, then it would happen. That happened about 18 years ago and I am still in the same area. It has taken me this long to even start blooming. Fear was a major devil to defeat and with the help of Rodney Howard-Browne's ministry and the Gospel Soul Winning Script found on revival.com for FREE, I have started blooming in this community. Praise God! Hallelujah!

 

Are you called to the mission field? Start where you are planted at this very moment!