Missions is not just about proclaiming the word of God and bringing people to the faith. It involves the task and responsibility of making disciples of all nations, which involves going to foreign lands, persuading people, sowing seeds of faith, meeting social needs, and bringing the good news. Our participation in missions must therefore not be to change people's way of thinking, to bring them to subjection, or to convert the heathens and pagans. Rather, we should learn to build relationships and earn the right to share the gospel by first addressing societal issues, before expecting people to listen to the gospel. The dominant motif of missions should therefore be to establish the Kingdom of God, since by it, God touches every aspect of the human condition, beginning from the fall of mankind into sin (past), the need for salvation (present), and the new kingdom awaiting the saved (future).
Since the Fall, God has made a redemption plan for mankind (Genesis 3:14-15), and formed a covenant with Abraham, continuing it through the Davidic covenant, and fulfilling it in the Person of Christ, according to the line of David, where Jesus takes on the roles of Prophet, Priest, and King, as Human and Deity, in reigning and suffering, by birth of a woman and coming in the clouds, depicting the first and second coming of Christ.
Throughout the Bible, the role of missions can be seen in God's plan to redeem the world. Missions is not just about proclaiming the gospel or about winning and converting souls. Missions involves meeting the needs of the people, just as Christ meets the physical needs of the multitude as He brings the reality of the God's Kingdom to them (Matthew 14:19-21).
