I was recently at a gathering of international leaders representing several nations, churches, and missional ventures. One of the leaders, who has many ties to missional venturs, was giving a presentation on the body of Christ’s calling to bring God’s Kingdom influence into the world. He said a poignant phrase that really caught the attention of this very international group (some even gasp out loud).
God did not tell His people to TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD, but to “GO INTO THE WORLD”.
There phrase represents a subtle but powerful misconception that has crept into the church regarding our call to God’s mission. It is a kind of missionary mystique that equates obedience to Jesus’ mission with getting on a plane or going to some distant place.
It sounds spiritual. It feels sacrificial. It even looks heroic. But it can quietly distort what Jesus actually said.
Jesus did not command us to “travel around the world.” He said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). That word go is not about tourism, but it’s about the trajectory of life. It is not primarily geographic; it is relational, missional, and incarnational.
If we don’t keep this central, we can reduce missions to distance, or an unknown place, rather than everyday obedience in the lives we live.
The Myth of “Over There”
Some have embraced the idea that “real missions” happen somewhere far away, another nation, another culture, another language. Meanwhile, everyday life becomes a “less than” state in which no real mission occurs,
Jesus dismantles that thinking when gathering His disciples after His resurrection and before He ascended to heaven in Acts 1:8:
- Acts 1:8 You will be My witnesses BOTH IN in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
The word for “both in” is a primary particle of connection, not either or, but both in. Notice the order.
- Jerusalem – where you are
- Judea – your broader region
- Samaria – uncomfortable, cross-cultural spaces nearby
- Ends of the earth – distant places
This is not an either/or, it is a both/and reality happening simultaneously.
The Real Issue: Going vs. Living Sent
We have unintentionally created two categories of Christians:
- Those who “go” (real missionaries)
- Those who “stay” (not real missionaries who can only be supporters)
But in the New Testament, that division doesn’t exist. Every follower of Jesus is sent!!!
Jesus said in John 20:21 “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” This means that all of us are sent. The businessman, the everyday worker, the grandmother and grandfather, mother and father, son and daughter, and the student. All of us are sent every day, everywhere, all the time. Missions is not an event, it is an identity.
Travel Can Be Obedience, but It Is Not the Goal
Let’s be clear: God absolutely calls some to go to distant places. The book of Acts is full of Spirit-led sending to other geographical locations. Paul, Barnabas, and others were commissioned and sent out (Acts 13). But there is a correction we need to come into alignment with in God’s design. Simply going to a distant place, or distant travel, can elevate traveling and unintentionally:
- Romanticize missions
- Bypass our local calling and responsibility
- Chase travel experiences instead of every day obedience
A plane ticket, or the name “missionary” does not make someone missional. Our every day obedience to God’s missional calling does.
The Pattern of Jesus: Incarnational, Not Occasional or Distant
Look at the life of Jesus. A geographical survey of the gospels reveals that He never traveled more than about 100 miles from the place of His birth. Many mistaken missional ideas would think that Jesus wasn’t very missional, especially in light of how the gospel John revealed what He did.
- John 1:14 (MSG) The Word (Jesus) became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.
True mission looks less like a trip and more like a real (incarnational) life lived out and laid down among people.
Recovering a Biblical Vision of Missions
We don’t need less missions, we need a more Biblical definition. We need the “both in” to the world around us causing us to:
- Living as a witness where God has placed you
- Crossing barriers (cultural, relational, social/”Samaria”)
- Making disciples, not just converts
- Building spiritual family, not just counting decisions
- Walking in both local and global obedience
The call is not just to “go to the ends of the earth” but also “go to the end of your block.” It is not simply “the 10/40 window” but also 1040 West Avenue in the town/city you live in. Identifying with our missional calling is not just about “Who will go across the ocean” but “who will obey where they are, and wherever I send them?”
A Needed Tension
We must embrace and hold an important Biblical idea right now: SOME MAY BE SPECIFICALLY SENT FAR, BUT ALL OF US ARE SPECIFICALLY SENT NOW!!!
If we lose the first part of this definition we will not have a heart for the ends of the earth, but if we lose the second, we become inconsistent and disobedient at home while dreaming of obedience abroad.
Important To Remember
I do quite a bit of traveling overseas, and it is important to remember some very important truths:
- “IT IS EASIER TO GET ON A PLANE FOR A WEEK THAN TO LOVE YOUR FAMILY, NEIGHBORS, AND COWORKERS FOR A LIFETIME.
- IT IS EASIER TO PREACH TO STRANGERS THAN TO INTERACT AND DISCIPLE THE PEOPLE ALL AROUND YOU WHO ARE IN YOUR LIFE UP CLOSE AND RIGHT NOW.”
Instead of being taken up with endless romanticized ideas of missions, “Am I called to go somewhere else,” How about the more sure questions in light of what Jesus said, “Am I living as one who is sent, right here, right now?” Because the same Spirit who sends people to the nations also sends you across the street.
Unitl we recover this Biblical idea, we may travel the world…and still miss the mission!!!