Tri-Cities Baptist Church

Following Jesus is dangerous…so dangerous that it costs us our very lives.  In other words, Jesus’ call for us to make multiplying followers of Him at home, across the street, and around the world is a very personal mandate.  We can’t say “yes” to that call without it affecting us at a very practical level.

Jesus always got personal…He still gets close.  And His first followers took Him seriously and gave their lives to take the Light into the darkness.  Now it’s our turn to take Jesus seriously and take the Light to the Nations.

Sunday night in a powerful LightYear service, we set aside three men who have embraced God’s call to be elders in our church body.   These godly men are committed to help the Tri-Cities family take the Light to the difficult places of the world.  They have taken Jesus’ call personally and have publicly committed themselves to serve the purposes of God in their generation.

But that’s not enough.

According to the Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board, there are 7,407 unreached people groups on the planet.  There are 504 unengaged, unreached people groups of a population of 100,000 or more.  The IMB is directly engaged in 1,083 people groups. (Source:  www.imb.org/globalresearch )

Do you get the picture?  Our task is not finished.  Even in this current culture of technology and information, the Light has not reached the remote places of the world.  We still have work to do.

That’s where you come in.

At the close of our service Sunday night, we each took a candle, lit it, and held it high to publicly surrender to do whatever God tells us to do to Light the world in 2010.  You may ask, “What can I do?” “What can one person do to light the world?”

For starters, you can pray for the nations.  Visit websites like, www.operationworld.org, www.imb.org, or www.persecution.com to know how to pray for the peoples of the world.  When we pray, God works.

Second, you can give.  Through your regular “storehouse giving” you help TCBC support Southern Baptist missionaries as well as 18 other independent missionaries and agencies.  Give to FaithPromise.  This is the only designated giving we have here, but every dollar given helps fellow church members go to the nations on short-term mission projects.  Finally, you can give through special offerings such as the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions.

Third, you can go.  Jesus told us to go and make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28).  He commanded us to go to our neighbors and the nations (Acts 1:8).  You have the opportunity to work with TouchPoint Community Ministries to shine the Light locally.  And then you could join one of the 12 projects we have to take the Light beyond the city limits.  Projects in Honduras, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Kenya, Peru, Manchester, New Hampshire, Rwanda, India, or China are open to you.  These projects help take the Gospel to every person and to plant churches for every people.   Contact Dan Wininger at dwininger@gmail.com to get on board.

Some of you will go short-term, but God is calling some of you to plant your life in a culture that is not your own in order to reach a people that God loves very much.

Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven”—Matthew 5:16.

These three elders made a commitment.  We held up our light Sunday night.  Now what will you do to take the Light to your neighbors and to the nations in 2010?  We have been called to make multiplying disciples of Jesus Christ at home, across the street, and around the world.  What are you waiting for?