When most people think of a missionary, they immediately think of a certain type of person.
Maybe someone who lives in a third-world country, in a little hut with a dirt floor and thatched roof, whose days are spent caring for the sick or homeless, or building homes and churches, someone who does all of these radical and moral works in Jesus’ name. Someone like Amy Carmichael, Adoniram Judson, or Elisabeth and Jim Elliot. We set aside these types of people in a certain group and label them as, “missionaries.”
I moved to Mexico almost two months ago to serve with GEM and be a missionary.
Most missionaries here are teachers who are in their classrooms with their students all day, pouring into their lives and speaking the truth of the Gospel to them.
My job? It looks a little different.
I work in the GEM Mexico field office where the majority of my job is done in front of a computer all day, capturing and creating content, and sharing what is happening at GEM schools with the world.
It doesn’t fit the typical missionary stereotype.
…but not many things do.
We are trained to make whatever our job title is our identity.
I think as Christians it is important to realize that whatever we do, wherever we go, whatever we say, should all be done for the glory of the Lord. We should not save a select group of people to earn the title or responsibility of a missionary. If you associate yourself with Christ and serve Him with your life, you are an ambassador of Him (2 Corin. 5:20), therefore a missionary. This is a position to be taken seriously.
It is so easy and natural for us to get so stuck in our routines that we forget the most important reason why we are doing all of it… why we are living this life, why we are put on this earth. The purpose and priority should always be Christ, bringing glory to His name, and making every effort to make His name known among all people, no matter what your title or position might be.
“Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.” – Jim Elliot
The Lord has divinely placed each one of us right where He wants us to be. We need to trust that our Father can use our five loaves and our two fish to feed a multitude. Whether you are a college student going from class to class, a stay-at-home mom feeding and entertaining kids all day, the CEO of a major corporation, or anything in between…you are a missionary. Christ has called you to be His hands and feet right where you are.
There is no prerequisite to being a missionary other than a heart that longs to serve the Lord as well as simple and faithful obedience in all things unto Him.
– Sarah Beth Moore, GEM Missionary