The Church’s Calling: Across the Street and Across the World

 I mentioned a passage from Revelation Sunday in regards to our attempts to reach out to our Spanish speaking neighbors. Here is the passage:

Revelation 7:9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”

  John is given a glimpse into a heavenly worship service, and what stands out most clearly to me is God’s desire to have people from “every nation, tribe, people and language” worshipping him. It seems to me, if this is God’s desire, it ought to be ours, as well!

   God has brought Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and other Central American nations right to our doorstep. While global missions remain a heartbeat passion for BCC, what if God would allow us to be global in our own backyard? Or as someone else has put it, we could go glocal. That is, the church is called to serve its own local mission field, while at the same time having a vision for global outreach. Glocal. 

   Not only is this a biblical principle, I believe it also has practical implications, as well. Churches that are myopic or shortsighted tend to grow inward focused. However, a church that is always looking beyond itself—across the oceans, as well as across the street—will never reach a point at which it “arrives.” A church with a global vision will always be looking to new territories and people groups who are unreached who need Jesus. This sort of vision keeps a church fresh and vibrant. It keeps a church’s ministry edge always sharp.

  As BCC goes glocal, I want to invite you to join us in four ways.

1. PRAYER- Pray for our Hispanic neighbors to come to Christ and for God to open doors as we seek to reach out to them. Pray for God to grant us sensitivity and wisdom as we care for our neighbors. 
2. WELCOME- One of the characteristics that stands out most about BCC is our warmth and welcome. Please, go out of your way to reach out to and greet new people who come to Bailey, especially our Hispanic guests. If you have ever been in a foreign country and didn’t understand the language, you have some sense of what it might be like to be someone for whom English is not a primary language; not to mention the cultural issues that are different. 
3. INVITE- Help us get the word out that our second service will be offering Spanish translation. If you have family, friends, co-workers, or neighbors who are Hispanic, consider inviting them to join you for worship.
4. NO “US-AND-THEM” MENTALITY- Help us create a culture at BCC that reflects John’s vision of heaven. Though there are multiple nations and languages represented in Revelation 7, John’s goal is to convey that there is only ONE people of God! Paul puts it this way in Ephesians 2:

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…15 His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross…

  As we reach out to our Spanish speaking neighbors, we get to live out Christ’s mission to  “make disciples of all nations,” and we don’t even have to leave Bailey to do it!