The Great Commission, or Great Suggestion?
Patricia Evans
, , I have been praying
five
months for someone to
come and share the way
of peace with us,” the
Hindu woman said softly
through her tears, “and
now you have come.” The
glory of the Lord’s
saving grace shone on the
woman and her family that
day. Such is the nature
of e3 partners short
term mission trips. I
knew as the Hindu woman
in Nepal spoke to me
that no power in Heaven
or earth could stop
Almighty God from finding
His lost lambs. He had
heard the prayer of this
idol worshipping
woman, and answered the
cry of her heart by
revealing Himself in a
simple Gospel
presentation.
The opportunity to be
in a foreign land,
sharing the gospel, came
to me through a series of
God-sent circumstances,
in answer to my own
heart’s cry of “Hear I
am, send me.” My whole
Christian life had been
spent as an associate lay
Pastor’s wife, raising
our sons and being
happy in my own little
world. The gracious
Father had prompted my
heart that there was
something I was missing,
something crucial, and I
had sought for the answer
to this for months. The
answer was simple:
stop being self-serving
and living in my comfort
zone. There is a
spiritual battle going
on, and it is a matter of
life and death,
Heaven or hell, and is as
real as our tangible
world around us. Here I
was, living is such a way
as to avoid the heat of
battle, not to
embrace it! The Lord had
laid the same call on my
husband’s heart at
the same time, and as we
fasted and prayed for
direction, the doors
were opened to be a part
of e3 partners, and “Go
ye into all the
world” became a blessed
reality. The only way to
describe being on a
campaign, is as close to
Heaven as it gets!
E3 Partners is a
Church Planting, short
term missions
facilitator.
They have been doing this
for about 25 years, and
are very meticulous
about the leading of the
lost to Christ, with
IMMEDIATE follow up into
a solid discipleship
program with the national
Christians. No church
plant is done without the
national Church being
able, willing , and
called by God to nurture
and fellowship the new
converts into the fold
of God. We go to train
the nationals in
evangelizing and
discipling
their own people. The
goal is to reach the
unreached with the
message
of salvation, and to
train ourselves ‘right
out of a job’ by the
week’s end.
Anyone and everyone
who is a Christian, saved
by the blood of
Christ, whether a new
Christian or not, is
fully capable of sharing
the simple message of
salvation! In fact, we
are all instructed to
pursue global outreach by
Christ Himself. (Matt.
28:18-20) “And Jesus
came up and spoke to them
saying, “All authority
has been given to Me
in heaven and on earth.
Go therefore and make
disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them
in the Name of the
Father, and the Son and
the
Holy Spirit, teaching
them to observe all that
I commanded you; and
lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the
age.”
(Acts 1:8) “...but you
will receive power when
the Holy Spirit has
come upon you; and you
shall be My witnesses
both in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea and Samaria,
and even to the remotest
part of the earth.”
What an honor! If you are
a Christian, you are
fully called and will
be enabled by the Holy
Spirit dwelling within
you, to “go” and share
the message of salvation.
It isn’t our ability or
inability as a
person- the Lord will use
you if you will step out
in faith and answer
the call to the lost.
Here with family and
friends, the fellow on
the
street corner asking for
handouts, the executive
in the big business
downtown, in a far city
where the streetgangs are
rampant, or in a
foreign land.
Has the Lord has laid
a restlessness on your
heart to do more for
Him, to participate in
something of eternal
value, making the
difference of life or
death in the lives of the
unsaved? Would you
consider praying about
coming on a one to two
week long church
planting trip? It will
change your life in
Christ completely, and
invigorate your entire
being for the work to be
done here, in your own
sphere of influence and
in your own ministry.
I will be co-leading
a campaign to Panama on
April 11th-19th. We
will be doing door to
door evangelism sharing
Christ within
neighborhoods where the
national Christians have
seen the need, and
desire to see the people
reached for Christ. This
is one of the least
intimidating countries to
go to, and a good place
for the unsure and
nervous to ‘cut their
teeth on’.
There are many other
trips going to 31
different countries this
year.
If Panama is not for you,
go to the e3 Partners
website and sign up
for wherever the Lord
sends you. No one leading
these trips receives
monetary gain- it is pure
Kingdom work!
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