The national “do not call registry” has been in place for a short time now, and for millions of Americans, nights have been wonderfully filled with uninterrupted family conversations. Now, 50 million citizens aren’t grumbling when the phone rings, because they no longer dread a boisterous sales pitch or an automated recording. People are sharing stories of the day’s events without the uninvited intrusion of a telemarketer offering discounted magazines, cut-rate mortgages or some miracle service.
At the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board where I work, we serve tirelessly under the banner “Answer His Call, Tell His Story, Change Your World.” Right now, more than 5,200 dedicated missionaries have given their lives to full-time service for the cause of Christ in North America. They heard God’s call, and they answered.
Today’s population in North America exceeds 313 million. To share the gospel with every person in North America would require each NAMB missionary to be responsible for approximately 60,730 people. Even in my denomination’s largest churches, membership is less than half that number.
Clearly, for God’s mission to be met, His missionary force must be much larger.
Right now God is calling men, women, and even children to join Him on His mission. He is inviting people across this land to join in the adventure of telling His story to millions of people – lost, hurting and dying in vain without a relationship with God through Jesus.
To accomplish God’s mission, God’s people must answer His call.
The question is simple: Have you placed God on your spiritual “do not call registry?”
Few people ever intentionally put God on such a list. Most people want to hear from God, respond to His call and live the adventure He specifically designs. Sometimes though, life gets busy. Priorities get confused. Temptations lead to compromise. Before you know it, God’s original purpose is lost. All the little details of “life” get in the way, and God’s call goes unanswered.
A long time ago, a single man heard the voice of the Lord calling, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”
Isaiah a man who was busy with life could no longer keep from answering the call of God. “Here am I. Send me!”
And the world has never been the same.
More than 3,000 years later, God’s call is ringing in the ears of millions of Christians across North America. Answering the call of God may be as simple as setting aside one of the things taking away your time from serving in His name or by sharing your faith with a neighbor or a coworker. It may be something so small as volunteering in a church’s ministry, Maybe the answer is so easy as daily praying for your pastor, or investing your love and attention in the next generation, educating them about God’s call.
NAMB provides multiple extensions to answer God’s call. Disaster relief. World changers. Construction projects. Strategic Focus Cities. Mission trips. Church planting. Prison ministry. Cross-cultural evangelism. When a person answers God’s call, it always leads to an exciting adventure of faith to change the world, one person at a time.
God is no telemarketer. He has nothing to sell you. If you belong to Him through faith in Jesus, you already own all He has. Yet, He calls you to join Him in the ministry of reconciliation. Answer His call. Tell His story. Change your world.