📖 Biblical Definition
World missions is the outward movement of the gospel from the church to unreached peoples. Jesus commanded, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). The scope is global: "You will be my witnesses... to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). The eschatological guarantee is that "this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14). Missions is not one program among many — it is the church's central calling until Christ returns. The book of Revelation pictures the result: worshippers "from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages" (Revelation 7:9).
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
The commission or office of a missionary; persons sent to propagate religion.
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MIS'SION, n. [L. missio.] Commission; the state of being sent by authority to perform any service. Particularly, the sending of persons to propagate religion. Webster understood missions as an authoritative sending — the church commissioned by Christ to carry His message to the world.
📖 Key Scripture
• Matthew 28:19-20 — "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."
• Acts 1:8 — "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
• Romans 10:14-15 — "How are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?"
• Revelation 7:9 — "A great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Missions has been redefined as social work, cultural exchange, or short-term tourism.
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Three corruptions plague modern missions. First, the social gospel replaces gospel proclamation with humanitarian aid, medical care, and development projects as the primary mission. Good works should accompany the gospel but never replace it. Second, short-term mission trips often serve the emotional needs of the senders more than the spiritual needs of the unreached — a week of painting buildings is not the Great Commission. Third, pluralism undermines the urgency of missions by suggesting that people of other faiths may be saved without hearing the gospel. But Romans 10:14 is unambiguous: "How are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?" The lostness of the unreached is the engine of biblical missions.
Usage
• "World missions exists because worship does not yet exist among every people — the goal is not merely to meet needs but to make worshippers."
• "The Great Commission is not a suggestion for the adventurous — it is a command for the church until Christ returns."