Core Values: World Missions
World Missions: “We are committed to the Great Commission of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ through local and global missions.”
“...All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23 NIV). “…Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath” (Eph 2:3).
This is my story. This is your story. This is the story of all mankind.
In our love of “self,” we turned away from our perfect Creator and did what was right in our own eyes. Our sin caused us to face a destiny of eternity without God; without anything good. Eternal pain and suffering is the only result that all our striving could achieve for us. We can do nothing to solve this problem. No matter what tribe, nation, or tongue we are from, this is our story.
My story does not end there, though, and I hope that yours does not either. In the midst of our darkness, there is hope. God sent his Son, Jesus, to take our punishment on himself, making a way for us to be reconciled to Him again. Jesus lived a perfect life which allowed Him to be our perfect sacrifice. He suffered an excruciating death in which he “was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isa 53:5). This amazing act of love, mercy and grace has restored my relationship with God. Jesus’ triumphant resurrection and ascension to the Father gives me the joy of living with Him each day on Earth, and the hope of living with Him for eternity. This is my story, and I will forever praise God for it. If this is your story too, then I look forward to rejoicing with you in heaven with Christ.
The sad reality is that there is a vast amount of people whose story ends with a painful eternity apart from God. Many have rejected Christ’s gift of salvation, refusing to put their faith in Him, but the majority of people have either never even heard of it or have never had it explained or shown to them correctly. This should cause our hearts to grieve. Yet again, there is hope. God has a plan of using his children to share this message of Christ with people all over the world. Jesus told his followers to, “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Mat 28:19-20). Jesus said this to them because he has the authority to open people’s eyes to see the light of salvation, and in his love and graciousness he wants his followers to be the vessels in which the good news is shared.
The amazing grace that we have received compels us to tell others what Christ has done. That is why Millar College of the Bible wants to help our students understand how precious their salvation is while also equipping them to share it with the world. In class, students are taught about the good news and God’s plan of using the church to bring salvation to the ends of the earth. They learn how to put aside their cultural lens so they can understand and share the Bible as it is meant for all people, and they are encouraged to have compassion for those whom God has created and care about their destinies. Missions’ classes are offered to give more in depth teaching about local and cross-cultural missions. Millar also has numerous chapel speakers share about what God is doing in the world, and each campus either hosts or participates in a missions’ conference in which many missions’ reps share about how we can be involved. Along with on campus teaching, there is also opportunity for hands-on experience, as multiple missions’ trips allow students to serve in different parts of Canada or oversees. Even just stepping out of our campuses’ doors gives students and staff a chance to put what they are learning into practice and love and serve those in our communities that desperately need the Lord.
“The amazing grace that we have received compels us to tell others what Christ has done. That is why Millar College of the Bible wants to help our students understand how precious their salvation is while also equipping them to share it with the world.”
Millar desires to develop passionate, relevant, biblically shaped servants of Christ that will go into the world and share the good news of Christ wherever they are. Whether they become electricians, janitors, lawyers, or part of a ministry locally or abroad, God’s plan of using them to make disciples remains the same. With that in mind, we also teach our students about the need for believers to share the gospel amongst unreached people groups. A people group is considered unreached when they “lack enough followers of Christ and resources to evangelize their own people” (joshuaproject.net). There are still many people groups who do not even have the Bible written in their own language.
I remember when I listened to a chapel speaker share about Bible translation in my third year of studying at Millar. I had always thought that translating the Bible would be such a boring ministry to be a part of. I would have much rather been out doing the “fruitful” work of sharing the gospel and building relationships. During that chapel, God drastically changed my mindset. He revealed to me how blessed I am to have such easy access to the Bible, and he caused me to ponder what my life would be like without it. It made me realize how translating the Bible for a people group would change the course of their history as it would allow them to study God’s Word on their own for generations to come. Whether God uses me to translate His Word or not, I am thankful for that time at Millar in which He opened my heart to care more about the Bible and His mission.
God is using missions teaching and exposure at Millar to guide our students and staff into how He might use them to share the good news of salvation. “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” (Mat 9:37). May we be faithful to work with Christ to bring in the harvest. Let us not lose sight of the gift we have been given and how glorious it will be when we stand before the throne with our brothers and sisters from every nation, tribe, people, and language, worshipping Christ for all eternity (Rev 7:9).
About the Author
This article in our Core Values series is written by Kristen Woyke, the Dean of Women at our Winnipeg campus.