“Do Missions NOW Acts 1:8 Rally”

Sept. 8 1:00-5:00 pm

Eagles Landing First Baptist Church, McDonough

We are all missionaries and we are to be on mission day in and day out. Indeed, we are to be Acts 1:8 believers.

Eagles Landing First Baptist Church will be hosting a “Do Missions NOW Acts 1:8 Rally” on Sept. 8 from 1 until 5 p.m. Anyone and everyone who is sincerely committed to being an Acts 1:8 Christian, to participating in an Acts 1:8 church, to being involved in an Acts 1:8 association, and to participating in an Acts 1:8 convention should make plans to be a part of this Acts 1:8 event.

Understanding that your time is very valuable, and especially on the weekend, the sessions are concise and the total time of involvement will be limited to Saturday afternoon. I will be speaking in the first session of the afternoon and Dr. Geoff Hammond, the new president of the North American Mission Board, will be speaking in the third session. There will also be two breakout sessions providing information on the following relevant topics:

The Acts 1:8 Challenge – the 411

Mission Opportunities in Your Judea

Persecuted Christians – A Spotlight

Mission Opportunities in Your Samaria

Planning an Acts 1:8 Event in Your Church

Prayer Strategy for Acts 1:8

Planting an Acts 1:8 Church

The conference will be punctuated with beautiful and inspiring music to prepare our hearts for worship. Providing special music in the 1 p.m. worship session will be the Cornerstone Baptist Church Choir of Lithia Springs and Pasha Istudor of the Gwinnett Romanian Baptist Church in Lawrenceville. The 3 p.m. worship session will include special music from the Gwinnett Romanian Baptist Church Choir and Orchestra and Vizion of Iglesia Bautista Hispanoamericana in Lilburn.

We all need to be reminded that doing missions is not an option for the believer or for the church as a whole. The Great Commission in Matthew 28 is familiar to all of us. Perhaps you have not thought of Acts 1:8 as the Great Commission, but it is also the Great Commission given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

In these words, Jesus gave us a commission, a commandment to be on mission for Him throughout the world. We refer frequently to the Great Commission but never speak of it as the great suggestion, because Jesus was not suggesting that we carry the Gospel into all the world, He was commanding that we go into all the world. He mentioned first our Jerusalem, and then in ever expanding terms, Jesus pointed us to the entirety of the earth.

We are responsible to proclaim the good news of Christ to all the people of all the world all the time. This is a huge responsibility, but Jesus also empowered us as He said in Acts 1:8 through the Holy Spirit to accomplish this great task.

While it is possible for us to become involved in the routine activities of our local church through which we are inspired, we must constantly be on guard that we not be overcome with activities and fail to complete our mission of getting the message of Christ out to all people.

In the Matthew text, Jesus taught that we are to do evangelism and we are to baptize those who confess faith in Jesus Christ. Further, Jesus taught that we are to disciple those who are saved by teaching them to do all things that Jesus has commanded us to do.

I would think that no one would dispute the reality that our world is increasingly lost and in need of the Savior. There are evidences of this reality all around us. There is another reality, however, and that is that the church of today has everything that it needs to proclaim the Gospel of Christ throughout all the world in such a way that everyone will have an opportunity to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.

A well-known statistic is that only 5% of believers will ever share their faith with another individual. If we are to reach our world for Christ, that statistic must change dramatically. We are all missionaries and we are to be on mission day in and day out. Indeed, we are to be Acts 1:8 believers.

I encourage you to make every effort to be present at Eagles Landing First Baptist Church for the “Do Missions NOW Acts 1:8 Rally.” May we all rededicate ourselves to be believers in Christ constantly on mission for Him.