OAKVILLE, ONTARIO - "I feel sad when missions is a program and not a lifestyle," said Nancy Jane Johnson, Compassion Project Manager at the Meeting House Church in Oakville.
"If missions is a program then we can choose the program or not choose it. Will I go to a Bible study or not? Will I be involved in missions or not? But Jesus said, Go. If we think I will only not go if God tells me not to, then I think the church would be quite different."
Johnson trained with Youth With a Mission in 1991 then did a practicum trip to three Asian countries. Presently finishing a Masters degree in Divinity at Tyndale, Johnson has led 15 short-term missions trips and trained 25 teams since 1998.
In addition, Johnson helped a Toronto church develop a short-term missions program which sent out over 200 individuals on missions trips over 7 years. However, it was the youth who led the way. They'd been serving in a cross-cultural context for 4 or 5 years. As a result, the youth prepared the church to get involved with missions.
Johnson says sometimes the church has to be involved locally in order for it to believe that it can actually do something globally. However, sometimes it's the other way around.
"Sometimes people have to do something extreme such as a short-term oversees missions trip before they can see that if they can do it there, they can do it here. It doesn't always follow in that order. But it works best when it's being done in both places."
According to Johnson, the idea of being a global citizen is very much a part of this generation's mindset.
"For young people it's kind of a no-brainer. They believe that we have a responsibility to go and serve. They don't see the obstacles. They see the need. This generation is different even from Gen X because they really believe that the world can be a better place. Compassion has become vogue in the media and in the world's idols and heroes. Bono, for example, says he's using his celebrity status as currency for the kingdom of God."
Johnson believes that motivating a church to become involved with missions requires both teaching and experience. She recommends working with the local soup kitchen or going downtown to investigate homelessness. The point is to get people outside the walls of the church.
"Sometimes churches have to get honest about the obstacles and barriers that are keeping them from the full calling that God has for them. Sometimes that can be a painful process and they have to undo some of the priorities that they had. And then there has to be a missions champion who can either be raised up or someone who will come in with the experience and vision to motivate the church to get involved with missions."
"I think the sky's the limit on what God can do through a church, individual or youth group." BLM
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Johnson says sometimes the church has to be involved locally in order for it to believe that it can actually do something globally. However, sometimes it's the other way around.