Paper Missionaries by Alice H. Murray

Paper Missionaries

by Alice H. Murray

 

“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation”

(Mark 16:15, NIV).

 

The Christian and Missionary Alliance church my family attended when I was a teenager shaped my view of missions. Missionaries left home and loved ones behind taking the Good News to faraway places. Prayer cards for missionaries serving in foreign countries decorated our home’s refrigerator door.

In Jesus’ time, going into all the world meant physically moving from one geographic location to another to verbally spread his teachings. The disciples, whom he sent out in pairs, walked from town to town. But interpreting the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19 to mean Christians must travel to preach the gospel places too literal and narrow an interpretation on “go.”

With today’s technology, going into the world doesn’t necessarily require physical movement. We can now accomplish that result through other means, such as the internet. Social medial allows connection with those in different countries and on different continents.

My childhood view of a missionary as someone moving to a foreign land to preach the gospel proved too restrictive. Jesus drove this conclusion home to me. Well, it wasn’t actually Jesus, but someone who plays Jesus—actor Jonathan Roumie, star of “The Chosen.” In an interview, Roumie explained he viewed playing the part of Jesus as a ministry. He is using his God-given acting talent to spread the Good News. On the airwaves or in the theater, Roumie goes into the world preaching the gospel.

The actor’s words inspired me. Writers can use their God-given talent with words to spread the Good News and address an international audience. Readers throughout the world can access words written on a blog or on a website. We can also share through books sold overseas.

What a powerful opportunity writers have to obey the Great Commission. We can go and preach to all the world through our writing. We are paper and digital missionaries.

Lord, empower me to use my words to spread the Good News about The Word. Amen.

 

Alice H. Murray, a retired adoption attorney, now pursues her passion for writing. A regular contributor to GO! magazine and the Dynamic Women in Missions’ website, Alice blogs weekly on https://aliceinwonderingland.wordpress.com. Her own book, releasing in April 2023 from End Game Press, follows publication of her work in compilation books like Chicken Soup for the Soul.