Why We Are Volunteers
The understanding that we are called and that we are sent is at the foundation of our faith. The scriptures are full of stories of persons who responded to a call and were sent on mission for God. Jesus spent his ministry calling persons and sending them on God's mission.Jesus summed up the Christian lifestyle in a simple formula: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength" and "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Putting our faith into action is at the very heart of our Christian calling. The New Testament instructs those who would be followers of Jesus to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give shelter to the homeless, heal the sick, care for the widows, and nurture the children.
Through volunteers in mission, every person in the church has the opportunity to serve and to live their lives more faithfully. And when we reach out and use what God has given us in the service of others, we have life-transforming experiences.
We are told that Jesus came in order that we might be able to tear down walls of hostility that divide and to build bridges of understanding. We are called, wherever we are in the world, to love all of God's creation and to demonstrate that love with action.
When asked by a lawyer to explain who was his neighbor, Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan. The Samaritan was a good neighbor because he had compassion and was able to cross culture and religious boundaries to help someone who was obviously hurting and in need of help. And then Jesus said, "Go and do likewise!"Helping the sojourner in our midst, and sharing with each other are what God expects. We are instructed in the Book of Hebrews: "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it."
Today we are a global neighborhood. There is no place on this planet where we are not called to go if there is a need. There is no place where we do not have the opportunity to receive those who understand themselves to have been sent.
When those of us from more affluent countries work alongside those who are poor or oppressed, we are blessed in profound ways. As we move into different cultures and experience the reality of other contexts, we begin to live our lives with greater sensitivity, understanding, and compassion. This kind of living and understanding is church-energizing.
In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., "Everyone can be great because everyone can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't even have to make your subject and your verb agree... You only need a heart full of grace...a soul generated by love."
Mission Volunteers and the Four Focus Areas of Ministry
