Firstly, unity in ministry is needed in order for others to see Christ in you. That makes it a big deal!

1 John 4 :12 says, “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us”

Jesus says in John 13:45, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.“

Jesus didn’t say that they would know Him by our prayer walks. He didn’t say they would know Him by our eloquent preaching or compassionate heart for the lost. Although these things are good, His Word says they will know Him by the love that we have for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Our love for the lost will not get us anywhere if we don’t extend the same love and grace to our fellow believers and teammates! 

Another reason we must acknowledge the importance of unity in the body of Christ is we all must work together to accomplish what we are called to. We all have different strengths, giftings, and callings that aren’t meant to be done alone.

Romans 12:4 says, “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function. so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

Again in 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, Paul says, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”

Ephesians 4:16 says, “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

It is for our own good, and the good of the body of Christ that we operate as one. By this we build each other up in love.

The devil brings lies to cause disunity and division, because he can attack where there is disunity. We saw this in the story from our outreach students. Did you know the number one reason people leave the mission field is because of strife and relationships with other believers? This shouldn’t be! This is why Paul tells us to strive to be at peace with our brothers and sisters.

1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Something I recently learned is that when a lion goes to attack an elephant, the herd rallies in a circle around the weaker or smaller elephants with their tusks facing outward. When the lion attacks, the elephants are able to use their tusks and defend the others. However, when an elephant goes off on its own, it is unable to defend itself when a lion attacks. This is what it is like when the body of Christ is in unity. When we are unified, we can stand our ground against the enemy. When we are not, we open a door for the enemy to work in our lives.

Disunity comes from believing a lie. We must walk in the truth to be able to minster effectively.

I love this story from our outreach team because they acknowledged that something was wrong and brought it to the Lord. This is what I encourage you to do as well! Embrace open communication with each other as you ask the Lord what the root of the issue is. Ask Him to reveal the lie, and choose to partner with His truth! Go have the hard conversations with people. Pray together. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. Do not give the enemy a foothold! Choose to lay down your life in love for your brothers and sisters as Jesus laid down His life for you. 

There is no better place to grow in unity in the body of Christ than to dive into a Godly community that disciples and does life together! 

Learn and grow for 5 months with us in our Discipleship Training School!

First, let’s take a look at Paul. We consider Paul to be one of, if not the, greatest missionaries and apostles of Christ. Our New Testament is filled with his letters to churches, like Ephesus, Colossae, and Corinth. In most of Paul’s letters, there is a theme of prayer. Every time Paul asks for prayer from the church he is addressing, the prayer had to do with the advancement of the gospel.

In Ephesians 6, Paul writes of the armor of God. He concludes this passage with this:

“…and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” Ephesians 6:17-20

In this passage, Paul makes a clear link between the spiritual battle and praying for Christians to boldly proclaim the gospel.

Next, let’s look at Jesus and the way that he modelled prayer. Luke 6:12 says this:

“In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.”

This verse follows a passage describing persecution from the Jews for healing a man on the Sabbath, and precedes the day that he chose the twelve disciples, at which point they begin ministry together, preaching, healing the sick, and raising the dead. Jesus showed the importance of prayer in ministry.

Again, at the end of Jesus’ ministry, he showed the importance of prayer when he spent the night praying in the garden of Gethsemane. He needed the strength from the Father in order to do the Father’s will. Spending His last moments before being taken up praying for the Father’s will to be done is the backbone behind Him being able to endure and ultimately bring the good news of the gospel to all of creation. (Matthew 26:36-46)

Jesus prays for the saved and the lost

The entire chapter of John 17 writes a full prayer of Jesus before he was taken up to be crucified. I encourage you to read all of it, but for now we will take a look at verse 9 where Jesus intercedes on behalf of His disciples:

“…and they believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.”

Verse 20 continues with Jesus interceding for the lost:

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.”

Throughout Jesus’ time on earth, he continued to model the link between prayer and missions. Although we won’t discuss them all, I encourage you to look these verses up on you own time and see what the Lord shows you! (Heb 5:17, Luke 3:21, Matthew 14:23, Mark 6:46, Luke 6:12, Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16, Luke 9:18, Luke 11:1)

Finally, when Jesus was hanging on the cross and about to die, he cried out to the Father on behalf of the lost:

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

Throughout the scriptures, we see that there is a clear link between intercession and missions, but why is this?

It gets our focus in what is on God’s heart.

You may hear the prayer “break our hearts for what breaks yours, God.” This is done through prayer for others, when we ask God what is on His heart to pray for and we partner with His will!

It puts our dependence on God.

Intercession in missions is also vital because it puts our dependence on God first, not ourselves. Prayer sets up our ministry by focusing our attention on the one who deserves all the glory. A heart posture of humility and dependence on God empowers us to walk in His authority!

God uses us through our prayers.

Another reason we should value prayer is because it involves us in God’s plan to touch people.

Loren Cunningham, the founder of YWAM, shares an incredible story of the impact of intercession in a teaching he gave many many years ago. In that story, he and his wife, Darlene, were travelling together across a desert, and crashed the car terribly. Both of them were thrown from the car, and Darlene stopped breathing. God spoke to Loren in that time, and he began to pray for Darlene. At the same time in a different country, a group of women paused what they were doing because they felt an impression from the Holy Spirit that they needed to pray for Darlene and Loren. Soon, Darlene started breathing again and they were able to get help. It was later confirmed that the prayer of those ladies was happening at the exact same time they had gotten into this accident.

(Watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wM82OrUb40)

Could God have just healed Darlene without the prayer of those ladies? Of course he could; He’s God! But God’s heart is for us to pray with faith according to His promises, and he wants us to be involved in the process. It is an honor to be able to partner with God through prayer!

The Lord speaks when we intercede.

The last reason intercession in missions is important (that I will touch on) is that it allows the Lord to direct our paths. It is in times of prayer that God speaks to us. He shows us things we could not have known on our own, because He sees the bigger picture when we can only see one puzzle piece. When we give room for God to speak and are prepared to step out in faith, things will always fall into place according to His will.

We can see that intercession in missions is important and biblical, but we must also know how to do it! There are many prayer methods, strategies, and thoughts on how to pray effectively. However, right now let’s look at the very model that Jesus gave the disciples when they asked him to teach them to pray, in what many call “the Lord’s Prayer”. The words of Jesus is a great place to learn, right?

“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’”

Here in this simple verse, we see key principles we can pull out.

Let’s take it piece by piece:

• “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”

We praise God and lift His name high. Spend time giving Him His rightful place in your life and glorifying His name.

• “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Partner with the kingdom of heaven! What is bound on earth will be bound in heaven, and what is loosed on earth will be loosed in heaven, so pray that the will of God would happen on the earth! This includes praying for the lost to be saved, workers to be sent out, and the sick to be healed.  If you ever question the will of God, just look at the life of Jesus. Everything Jesus did and said was according the will of the Father!

“Give us this day our daily bread”

Allow the Lord to refresh you and fill you up so you can overflow to the world around you. His water never runs dry and continuously satisfies.

“And forgive us our debts, as we have also forgiven our debtors.”

Repent before the Lord and acknowledge the forgiveness he has offered you. Choose to forgive those who have wronged you also. It is a command from God!

“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Engage in spiritual warfare. The enemy comes to bring destruction, but we have been equipped with armor of God. Take it up, and take your stand as a son or daughter of God who cannot be overcome by the evil one!

Be willing to listen to God and do what he says! Prayer often moves us to action, not a life of isolation and passivity. Prayer is the launching pad to the advancement of the gospel. Ask the Lord to prepare your heart to say “yes” to what he speaks to you.

Keep in mind that as you pray, God may be calling you to be the answer to your own prayer.

So, we have looked at where prayer and missions is found in the Bible, why it is important, and how we do it. Now that we know these things, what is stopping you? Are you ready to let God invade your prayer life and set your heart on fire for what He is passionate about? Take the first step. Ask Him what to pray for, and just step out and do it!

If you are interested in learning more about the way intercession is fit in to missions, join our community! As a base, we intercede together multiple times throughout our week. We invite you to come learn in a missions minded community by joining our Discipleship Training School!

The first way to be involved in missions is by sharing the need with others! If no one shares the need, no one will go! How will people know to give money to missions or to send people out if they are not informed of the need? It is because of people who are passionate about raising awareness that people choose to devote their life to reaching the lost. 

There are so many ways to raise awareness of the need for missions. If you have a heart and passion for communicating God’s heart for the world, ask to speak at your church or youth group! Start a blog or social media page. Film a video. Host a “missions night” and invite people over. The possibilities are endless.

Global Frontier Missions released a great video to educate the public about the remaining task and the need for missions. It is an awesome resource to share with your circle of influence!

Check it out HERE:

If you love speaking to groups of people, have a social media presence, or have passion to see other people grasp God’s heart for the lost and inform them of the task remaining, raise awareness for missions!

Another area to serve in missions is through giving. Teamwork in missions is especially key in this area. People who have committed their life to be overseas are funded by people who have chosen to partner with them in their work! However, if no one gives, how will they go? Similarly, if no one goes, who will they give to?

Our ministry here at YWAM Redding stands because of generous people who have chosen to partner with our vision. Each of our staff is able to remain here with us because of the same reason. These aspects of missions go hand in hand!

One of the most important aspects of missions is the prayer and intercession that fuels the work missionaries do.

Jesus says in Matthew 9:38 “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Paul also asks for prayer from the Church at Ephesus while he is preaching the Gospel in prison in Rome: “Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel..” (Ephesians 6:19)

Paul asked for prayer because He knew that it was essential to the work that he was doing. This principle should stand for all of us!

Another way we work together in missions is through mobilization.

I love this quote from Fred Markert:

“Mobilization is the process of envisioning and educating God’s people about His strategic plans for the world, and it is the means of keeping them involved and moving forward until they find their specific place and role in world evangelization.”

This is something that YWAM Redding is passionate about. It is the heart of our Discipleship Training School– to train up revivalists to be sent out to the unreached. We are passionate about seeing people step into their God-given calling, which is why we are sending out two long-term teams this year!

Lastly, all of these aspects of missions would have no point if there were not people willing to go. Jesus’ final words before he ascended to heaven was a commission to do this!

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore 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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

The first step to share your faith is to understand why it is that we share it. So, why do we share the gospel? We don’t share the gospel to prove a point or to be right. We don’t do it to get brownie points in heaven or to prove we are spiritual. However, we do share the gospel with people because we love them. Why? Because Jesus loves them, and we are partners with Him! This is key. We never want to communicate fear or anger; instead, we want to communicate love. This means we must ask God for his heart for the lost.

His love for them compelled him to lay down his life in order to bring them home. The Word says in John 15:13, “greater love has no one than this- that someone lay down his life for his friends.” We must understand the love God has shown us and those around us, and when we do, it becomes the cry of our heart that others would know it too. It isn’t that we want to shove a religion down people’s throats, it’s that our lives have been radically changed, and we know it is possible for others to experience this, too.

There are so many people we encounter on a day to day basis; how do we know who to share our faith with? Often God will “highlight” people to us. In other words, He will put it on our hearts to go talk to someone. He might give us a specific word to talk to a specific person. However, this isn’t necessary. As our base director, Jachin, always says, “You don’t need a Word of the Lord to share the gospel.”

“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.‘” Mark 16:15

Jesus tells us to preach the gospel to all creation and to every nation. If you find yourself wondering if you should share your faith with someone, the answer is YES. We don’t need to wait on a word of the Lord to share the gospel when there is already a mandate in His Word! Who do you share with? Anyone and everyone!

Now that we have addressed why you share your faith and who we share with, let’s discuss how. The thought of starting a conversation about your faith with a stranger may sound intimidating, so take a look at these 4 ways to share your faith with anyone. 

Rejection will happen as you share your faith- and that is okay! People rejected Jesus his entire life. Jesus tells the disciples in John 15, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

He told the disciples how to deal with rejection in Luke 11:8-11:
“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’”

Remember: Our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers and principalities in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). There is a fight in the spiritual over people’s souls. Remember that if no one was under the influence of satan, they would be a follower of Jesus. Partnering with Jesus means experiencing the rejection and hurt he experienced, but when we fear only God and not man, it cannot hurt you. Your flesh is crucified. You cannot kill a dead man! Matthew 10:28 says, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” At the end of the day, it is ALL WORTH IT for the one who chooses to follow Jesus. We continue to share the gospel, because Jesus pursues the one lost sheep. There will be people who don’t want Jesus, but there will also be people who do. Don’t let fear of rejection keep you from the beauty and reward of showing someone the love of God. Go out, boldly proclaim the gospel to all, and watch God show up and change people’s lives.