Why haven’t I ever heard about this at my church?

Stories… our lives are made up of stories, and the best of them, perhaps not always recognized in the moment, have God at the foundation.  Sometimes those stories turn into God-sized experiences.

Back in 2013, I gave my wife, Joyce, a unique Christmas gift: I enrolled her in the Perspectives study course, offered by Perspectives on the World Christian Movement.

The Perspectives course is a 15-week educational program designed to help Christians understand God’s global purpose and their role in it.  It examines this purpose through four perspectives: Biblical, Historical, Cultural, and Strategic.  The course aims to equip believers with the knowledge and motivation to participate in God’s mission to reach all nations. 

But why would I enroll my wife in such a study course?  We were already entrenched in fulltime mission mobilization; we both had a Bible college education and extensive cross-cultural training for church planting among the unreached; and we spent a third of our lives serving abroad.  So why another Bible/Discipleship course?

Some years earlier, while doing research to develop materials for leading a nine-day children’s missions focus, we stumbled onto a variety of good resources.  One of those resources was a compilation of web-based articles produced by Perspectives.  I recall Joyce commenting that this might be something we’d want to examine further. 

Joyce has been involved with Perspectives since June 2014.  At the time of completing the course, she was invited to be part of a Perspectives Coordinating Team.  One year later she was trained to be a Lead Coordinator and was assigned the position as key leader for the local Perspectives course.  Joyce conducted those classes each year through 2019.

After moving our Ethnos360 mobilization efforts to the Southwest, Joyce stepped into the position of Area Team Lead for Perspectives in the Greater Phoenix area and outlying communities. 

The students who were enrolled in the classes that were held in four Arizona locations wrapped up their studies a few months ago.  It has been quite interesting to hear the comments circulating among the students who have completed the course.  One comment we hear often is, “Why haven’t I ever heard about this at my church?”

Then, in October 2023, she was appointed as the Southwest Regional Director, working to establish course studies throughout the Southwest.  Her efforts complement my work as an Ethnos360 mission mobilizer, and it also help us in our multi-faceted mobilizing campaigns.

The majority of students who made this statement are referencing the content of the first four lessons, in which they heard about God’s heart for the nations expressed in every book of the Bible.  This thread runs deep, from Genesis to Revelation.

A student from Phoenix said… “One of the biggest things I learned was how the mandate for global missions didn’t just come from the Great Commission at the end of the Gospels or from the beginning of Acts, but it was laid out ever since the covenant with Abraham, and is spread out through the entire Bible.”

It was fresh light for many students to grasp an understanding that the Great Commission, found in Matthew 28:19 & 20, is rooted in Genesis 12:3 where God promised to bless all nations of the earth thru His servant, Abraham. 

You see, God is a missionary God with a mission to bless all the families of the earth –we get to be a part of that blessing.

Another student expressed… “It was very powerful to understand that this is a mission God has given to man to partner with Him for all eternity.   I saw in the Bible that every believer has a duty to participate with God in mission.”

Many alumni report that the Perspectives course has significantly impacted their worldview, prompting them to re-evaluate their involvement in global missions. 

Perhaps you are thinking, “I really don’t have any interest of serving in missions”, or… “I’m not really gifted to do that.”  But did you know that God desires to use every believer in His global purpose? 

The Perspectives course gives insights into six ways God can use you: as a giver, a goer, a sender, as one who prays & encourages others, as one who can welcome internationals into your community, or as one who can mobilize others.

As we advocate the need for laborers among the ripened fields of harvest, we encourage believers to consider enrolling in a Perspectives course.  We believe a deeper knowledge of what God is doing in the world can be the catalyst for every believer to understand their role in the Great Commission.

Find a class: www.perspectives.org