When I was young, I wanted to become a missionary and move to China. I learned in church about Christians in China and about their struggle against persecution. As I grew older, I doubled down on the idea that Christians had an obligation to share the gospel message with other nations. I thought it was about bringing the “good news” to people groups who had little exposure to Christianity. I thought missions was primarily taking the gospel from my “Christian nation” to the world and involved on-the-spot evangelism and rapid church movements.
I was wrong.
As I have learned from scripture and my personal experience, Missions is about a lot more than handing out bibles, and that Missions is bigger than building projects. I realized that there was a great need for missions and evangelism not just all over the United States, but also in my friend circles and local community. I heard about how the church was growing exponentially in other countries. “The US needs missionaries from China”, I remember thinking during college. I wondered then, why I was convinced that God was calling me to Mexico.
I became interested in serving with GEM during college. After graduation and some time working full-time, I rediscovered GEM and applied. I loved teaching science, and they were looking for another science teacher. It seemed clear to me that God was leading me to teach science at Manantial. I finally understood why God was leading me to Mexico. I thought God was bringing me to Mexico just to teach in a classroom.
He wasn’t.
God was calling me to serve at GEM and to teach at Manantial. But ultimately, God was calling me to learn and use me in ways I never expected. Serving in the classroom is one of the incredible ways that God is using me. But serving here extends beyond the classroom. A missional lifestyle involves living out and reflecting the gospel in all areas of our lives and all over the Earth. Wherever we are and wherever God calls us. God uses us to serve and teaches us a lot along the way. I am learning so many lessons from those who have a different culture and life experience than I do. The kingdom of God is a multinational, multicultural, and incredibly diverse group of people. Only in the Church is a group of people so diverse. There are so many languages worshipping the same name. Christ. Think about that for a second. Diverse perspectives, experiences, cultures, nations, and statuses all united under one name.
Christ.
We as teachers and missionaries are the feet of Christ that fill the boots on the ground, but we are not alone in the call to missions. The GEM staff in the US are just as responsible for living out the “Great Commission”. So are those who donate to GEM. So are those who sponsor students. And so are all who belong to the kingdom of God. The testimonies of Christians all over the world demonstrate God’s heart for diversity, community, and unity in Christ. In light of this, we should again consider the words of Christ after he resurrected. Matthew’s gospel account begins with a promise of a ‘God with us’ (Emmanuel). It ends with Christ assuring that he is forever with his disciples as he calls them all to a life of missions.
“When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. Then Jesus came up and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”
– Tanner Whetzel, GEM Missionary