How Will You Participate In The Great Commission

When considering our response to the Great Commission, it's common to focus on serving in missions on foreign soil, planting churches, and growing local believers. However, we tend to overlook the numerous roles that the church has in not only the preparation of those missionaries but also their ongoing support–both financially and in prayer. Whether a goer or a sender, Christians who obediently respond to God’s call enjoy a bountiful spiritual harvest. The Apostle Paul expressed this in his letter to the Corinthian church, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6, ESV). The story of Mawunyo illustrates the beautiful tapestry of obedient Christians who serve together so that the gospel can be proclaimed to all people.

The hospital guard found thirteen-year-old Mawunyo crying on the first day of school. She wasn’t upset that she had to go to school today. Rather, she was upset because she didn’t have a way to attend the missionary school in Togo, west Africa. FIM missionaries Koffi and Christy Sopcisak-Etsrou wrote about Mawunyo’s tears in the following update:

Mawunyo came to the hospital last March with a dangerous infection in her left leg. It was quickly decided that her leg needed to be amputated to save her life. Shortly after the surgery, her family abandoned her and left her alone at the Christian hospital. The chaplains and missionaries tended to her needs and loved her well. One missionary asked us to find someone to tutor her since she hadn't been to school for a few years. Hubertine, a high school student from the missionary school, committed to tutoring Mawunyo twice weekly. The change was noticeable as Mawunyo’s academics significantly improved. However, Mawunyo wasn't content with the tutoring as she longed to attend school daily with her peers. Thanks to the generosity of many who donated to the scholarship fund, we sent Mawunyo to school and paid for her daily transportation. Constant smiles have replaced her tears. Her confidence is growing daily as she completes her schoolwork. Most importantly, Mawunyo, whose name means “God is good,” has put her faith in Jesus Christ, and we pray that through the school, she will learn how to follow him faithfully.

Did you notice the beautiful layers of Christian compassion? FIM missionaries Koffi and Christy responded to God’s call and have dedicated their lives to teaching children in Togo. The school where they teach is the result of decades of ABWE missionaries who started churches, hospitals, and schools in Togo. At one of those schools, the Lord used missionaries and Togolese Christians to educate Hubertine, lead her to Christ, and disciple her as a mature believer. Out of a heart filled with compassion, she saw Mawunyo’s need and generously contributed the time needed to tutor her. Donors in Africa, Canada, and the United States gave sacrificially to provide the school with scholarship funds enabling Mawunyo to attend school. Togolese believers partnered with the missionaries for more than a generation, resulting in a strong church in Togo that is reaching more people with the gospel. Another FIM missionary from Senegal trained the Christian school teachers in Togo on how to disciple new believers utilizing a strategy developed by Southern Baptist missionaries. This training brought conviction about the need of the lost to these teachers who had been timid about evangelizing students in a predominantly Muslim area. With this encouragement and training, the teachers are witnessing with boldness, and the Lord blesses their faithfulness.

This story tells of just one joyous outcome that involves the effort of missionaries, donors, prayer partners, Togolese believers, churches in Canada, the U.S., Togo, and Senegal, along with several missionary agencies. It is a story that is being repeated around the world.

When considering your response to the Great Commission, what role will you take? Today, thirteen-year-old Mawunyo understands the gospel because missionaries, donors, and local believers all responded obediently to the call of God. Be faithful as you respond to God’s call to go as a missionary or to support those who go with prayer, encouragement, and finances. It is a task we all joyfully share.
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