Security

I have been considering the impact of this event both on the sending of teens as short-term missionaries (especially to the Muslim world), and the recruitment of youth and college-age people as long-term missionaries.

Crosswalk’s Teen channel wrote with some advice for teens:

“Lastly, many high school (and even young college) men and women are wondering what they can do now. I think the most important thing is to pray. Pray for our leaders, pray for our country, pray that the correct decisions would be made. Pray for our enemies and those that we dislike. Who knows whether some may have a change of heart, for with God all things are possible.

“If you can, get involved in some sort of local charity. In the wake of last week’s events, many organizations need items, blood, money, or just people to help out. These situations are great, not only because it is the nice thing to do, but because we can often help spread the gospel. As I mentioned earlier, many people are fearful and worried. Many people are even just wandering into churches and singing God Bless America without ever thinking about the true God, and what He can do for them. You just might be the difference, and the person God will use to save a soul.”

Other aspects of the article dealt with military issues, such as the draft. These are worthwhile issues, but they deal only with homeland evangelism. It seems very few Christian writers are writing to discuss the future of missionary work in the 10/40 Window. I have seen only a handful of articles (mostly by missions-specific media) about the fate of the 8 Christian aid workers in jail in Kabul, charged with preaching the Gospel. Comments in message boards on the various websites are mostly to do with prophecy and little or nothing to do with missions. Who will write about the future of youth as missionaries in the Middle East? Perhaps this is an indicator of how little Christian missions seems to impact us now that the year 2000 is past.

Our commission to preach the Gospel throughout the world has been neither completed nor revoked, and “to the ends of the Earth” includes the lands of the Middle East. I do not write this to denigrate in any way the right of the US government to respond to security threats, but at the same time I remind us all that terrorism and persecution inspire fear. Are we going to let God’s love for the whole Earth inspire us to cast this fear out of our hearts, or are we going to turn tail and run from our missionary calling?

The way in which we mobilize our young people to consider missionary involvement in the 10/40 Window surely will be changing. If nothing else, the times will require a new consideration of security. We need to be talking about this, and renewing our efforts to challenge the next generation of missionaries to rise to their destiny.