Urbana 73
The gathering of over 14,000 students here is an indication to the world of Christian students' concern about evangelism and missions as an expression of their obedience to the Lord's Great Commission. This convention is a tremendous encouragement as well as a challenge to Christians all over the world. You have come here to study evangelism and missions, but more important to find out God's will for your life. I pray that this convention will be an instrument in the hands of Almighty God for the reinforcement of the missionary cause in the whole world.
This morning we conclude our study on the biblical basis of missions by taking up the fourth and last subtitle: The Basis of Missions in the Epistles, that is, the church and missions. My message again has three sections:
- The nature of the church,
- The urgency of the church's mission and
- The consummation of the church.
The Nature of the Church
In Ephesians, the apostle Paul uses eight illustrations to explain the nature of the church. We find the missionary responsibility of the church in all these illustrations.