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Should I Stay or Should I Go Now - How to know your calling to missions

“Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now?” 

How to know your calling to missions

[Trent McEntyre]


A common and difficult question facing many Christians is, “What is my calling? Should I stay and serve God here or go overseas?” Currently this question is approached in a variety of ways, most of which can quickly become uncertain and frustrating. Some people have essentially given up and decided that they cannot expect to have adequate assurance of their particular calling in life, especially if it is directly involved in global missions.

The classic teaching on discerning God’s call

The classic teaching on discerning God’s call for your life is four dimensional, primary and secondary, internal and external. The primary call of all believers is as followers of Christ “by him, to him, and for him.”[1] The secondary call is how we each respond to God by living our entire life for Him. The answer to the question, “Should I stay or should I go now?” is a matter of determining our secondary calling. Many of the problems we have discerning our secondary call come from problems we have embracing our primary call.

The internal call of God is the part of God’s calling that begins with God’s moving in your mind and heart. At some point after you come to know Christ you realize that you have been given spiritual gifts that should be employed for the building up of the body of Christ. Herbert Cane describes this process particularly for those God is calling to global missions[2]: For example you may have started to experience:
1.      Curiosity in other cultures and their relationship to God. Prayer should begin here and pervade the whole process.
2.      Interest in mission work and opportunities to share the gospel. It is very helpful to engage in evangelism locally and take part in short term missions trips.
3.      Understanding you giftedness and what might be needed in missionary service. This is where private Bible study and reflection is important.
4.      Assurance of the promises of God in missions and that you should pursue it.
5.      Conviction that God is the One that has been at work in your life through the curiosity that has sparked interest, understanding, assurance, and conviction.

We also need to discern God’s external calling. The external call of God is the part of God’s calling that he works through the body of Christ and your life circumstances. As you begin to seek out your personal calling internally you should immediately seek help from other Christians.
  1. Close peers are often the best to help you confirm your natural and spiritual gifts and abilities.
  2. Older or more mature believers are often best to counsel you in major decisions to confirm that you are in line with scripture and wisdom.
  3. Church and ministry leaders are God given agents to help you affirm your calling to missionary service. You should not consider yourself “called” until it has been affirmed with a trustworthy agency or church.

The external calling of God also includes our considering the God ordained circumstances of our life. This consideration is often called looking for open or closed doors. Be careful though, because sometimes God will call you to follow Him through what may look like a closed door. On the other hand, a compelling need or opportunity may not finally dictate how you follow God’s call on your life.

  Putting it together

 As you develop a foundation for discerning your calling to missions let me suggest a few applications.
o   Be encouraged! The covenant of love that God has made with us in Christ covers our individual calling. We do not have to fear the plans God has for us because they are part of God’s wonderful plans to bless His people and make them a blessing to the nations.
o   Be repentant! We may need to change our attitude, thinking, or approach to discerning God’s call. Regardless of the specifics of God’s call for you, he wants you to live by repentance and faith in Christ and the Gospel.
o   Be faithful! Are willing to test the waters? Often you will have to take steps of faith long before you have feelings of assurance about your call. This might mean beginning the application process for missions or taking part in a short-term trip.

God has lovingly provided everything we need for life and godliness.[4] Surely this includes everything we need to know to respond to His call on our lives. In this life of struggle and sin, we should not be surprised to struggle with certainty about our calling. But, if we will accept the normal means of grace that God has given us in His word, prayer, and the body of Christ we can all receive sufficient direction for how to serve God with our time, talents and treasures.

[1] Os Guinness, The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life, page 31
[2] Herbert Kane, Life and Work on the Mission Field. Refrenced in the RTS missions class Summer 2003.
[3] See Os Guinness, The Call, for excellent treatment of this subject.
[4] 2 Peter 1:3
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