The mission field calls to our minds far-away places of sacrifice, physical hardship, long separation from loved ones, and a touch of the exotic. In many cases, this is exactly what the mission field is. I know; I grew up in the Far East.

Yet the Bible tells us that the mission field is any place:
1) where paganism saturates daily life, 2 )where differing cultures exist, and 3) where a clear gospel witness is absent. Jesus said, "The field is the world" (Matthew 13:38). By this definition North America has become a mission field. Luder Whitlock writes that the "catastrophic loss of Christian understanding and influence that has occurred during the last 30 years has made North America one of the most important mission fields in the world."... Read More.

In the spring of 1933 as the willows and rose bushes bloomed in the Southern Hemisphere, a little Chilean boy was born. His parents were farmers, working closely with the handiwork of the great Artist who had so richly endowed the south of Chile. Not only did they work directly with creation, they also enjoyed a direct relationship with its Creator. They passed this personal knowledge of God on to their children and at the age of 15, Laureano Saez received Jesus Christ as his personal Savior... Read More.

Certain churches in North America give 20-35% of their total budgets to missions. But their strong missions emphasis is not simply budgetary, they have also sent career and short-term missionaries all over the world. The Message interviewed five pastors of such churches ranging in size from 140 members to more than 1,200. We asked them the following questions:

Why is missions is vital to your church?... Read More.