In 1792, William Carey wrote his famous essay entitled “An Inquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens.” Carey’s essay has been well-described as the “spark that ignited the modern missions movement.” Attacking the missional passivity of his generation, Carey argued that the Great Commission is a call for every disciple of Jesus. It’s not a suggestion. It provides the marching orders for the Church.
The urgency of Jesus’ commission was profoundly highlighted for me this past month as the World Reach team converged on Haiti to partner with Jacob and Keesha Via. The network and vision that Jacob and Keesha have recently adopted is called No Place Left. The heartbeat of their vision aligns heart-and-soul with William Carey’s—that every disciple would understand and participate in the high calling of making disciples.
As our team embarked each morning on the 3-hour drive to strategic Haitian villages, we experienced the vision of No Place Left firsthand. Through the use of simple, reproducible tools for disciple making, the team participated in over 300 gospel conversations, more than 50 people turned and believed in Jesus, and six people were immediately baptized as the first step of obedience.
As the important process of follow-up and discipleship begins, we ask that you pray for these new Haitian believers. Pray for the perseverance of new disciples. Pray specifically that the planted seed would remain in fertile soil and produce exponential fruit for the kingdom of God. Pray that the Lord would continue to raise up laborers for the harvest, because until the urgency of the gospel becomes the priority of every disciple, there will continue to remain places where the name of Jesus has not been heard. And pray for the new prophetic voices of our time, like World Reach and No Place Left, who challenge the church of Jesus Christ to reject our missional apathy and awaken with gospel urgency.
– Josh
