Mission in My Backyard
Peace is a church on a mission. Corporately and individually, we support missions worldwide, and missions nearer to our homes and communities. It’s awesome to be a part of a caring community who takes the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) seriously and who supports the spread of the Gospel message to every corner of the earth. Lately, however, I’ve been thinking about more personal, intimate missions. Things we might not consider as mission, but nonetheless are missions. Personal acts of caring and kindness and love that share God’s love in a more everyday kind of way.
Researching this topic a bit I ran across this saying and definition: “Mission in my backyard” means finding a cause or area of need to focus on within your immediate community, essentially looking for ways to make a positive impact right where you live, rather than traveling far away to volunteer or help others; it signifies the idea that there are always opportunities to help people close to home.
While we are called to share in big worldwide missions, I believe we are also called to more everyday opportunities for mission as well. We can share God’s love by caring for our family, tending to the needs of those who aren’t able to care for themselves, running errands for a homebound friend or neighbor, shoveling a neighbor’s sidewalk, bringing some cookies to someone who is lonely or better yet inviting them into our home to spend some time with them. We can be a listening ear for someone who needs to talk. We can be a warm hug to someone who needs comforting. A simple touch of the hand or arm around the shoulder can mean so much to someone who no longer has someone in their life who does that. We can speak words of encouragement to someone who feels undervalued or unsure of their worth. A heartfelt complement can do wonders to lift someone’s spirit. Simple words and gestures can go a long way in being the hands and feet of Christ to those around us.
In this new year, let’s all keep our eyes and hearts open for opportunities to share the love of Jesus not only worldwide in great big ways, but also right in our own backyard in simple ways that may still have a great big impact.
We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19
Dawn Lubker, Director of Ministry
