God has called every Christian to missions, calling us all to share the Gospel and make disciples. “You are the light of the world,” Jesus says in Matthew 5:14. “Let your light shine before others.”
But that’s easier said than done. Sharing your faith, having spiritual conversations, sharing the Gospel and how God is working in your life aren’t things that come naturally to most people. We’re used to more superficial conversations. And in most cultures, we’re taught to respect other beliefs and not try to convince someone of our own. So how can we do this well? How can we live our life on mission, so that the very way we live is a light that shines before others?
Recently Indigitous co-founder Simon Seow gave a talk about this topic at the Digitally Mobilized Church conference, hosted by Redeemed Christian Church of God in Lagos, Nigeria. In the talk, Simon focused on how the mobile app MissionHub can help you live a life on mission by making it easier to take steps of faith.
Introducing MissionHub
MissionHub is a free app that helps you be intentional with those around you one step of faith at a time. “Step by step, it helps users develop habits of missional living,” Simon says. By developing those habits, what had once seemed awkward will eventually seem totally natural, as you go about your normal, everyday life in a way that communicates the Gospel to those around you.
There are three principles MissionHub uses to guide you as you take those steps of faith.
1. Every Person Matters
For a lot of people, when they think about mission work, they think of traveling to some far-away community in another part of the world. Or maybe they think of a big revival meeting with a packed tent or arena. But you don’t have to think that big. Every person matters to God. Think of the people in your life — your friends, family members, coworkers, classmates, or neighbors, God has put those people in your life and you have an opportunity to make an impact in their lives.
Each of those people in your life has their own story and is on some stage of a spiritual journey. To live on mission with them, you must know their story and understand where they are on that journey (stages below).
“When we live on mission, it means we are engaging people all across this spectrum of this spiritual journey with the Gospel intentionally to help them move towards Christ,” Simon says. Once you know which spiritual stage a person is at, you can be intentional about meeting them there and guiding them towards their next spiritual step.
2. When taking steps of faith, every step counts
It’s easy to focus on major steps, such as sharing the Gospel or asking someone to pray to receive Christ. But depending on where a person is in their journey, they might not be ready for that yet. Every step counts, even those that might seem insignificant at the time. “A step of faith to walk next door to meet a neighbor, or to invite a friend over for dinner to ask someone how we can pray for them, each of these steps is significant,” Simon says.
MissionHub has four different kinds of steps that it suggests:
- Pray
- Care
- Share
- Relate
3. Take steps of faith in community
“It is not good for man to be alone,” God says in Genesis 2:18. We were created to live in community with God and with others. You should live your life on mission in community as well.
Communities within MissionHub are designed to help you grow as you live on mission. “It’s a place to do mission together. You can see and celebrate and challenge each other as you reach out to those around you,” Simon says.
If you’re not currently living on mission, and even if you are but feel you need some help, we recommend you try MissionHub. With its community, suggested action steps for each person in your life, and notifications that can remind you to take steps, the app makes it easier to live on mission.