Pastor Michael Paderes of Every Nation World Missions came to speak at Victory Caloocan last Sunday. I was gripped by the stories of our pastors from restricted nations. Stories like that never fail to amaze me. They give me a glimpse of what God is doing even in countries where the preaching of the gospel is forbidden. But what really blew me away was his emphasis on the role of prayer in all these. Personally, when I think of world missions, I think of tribal groups and distant places and how I am not a part of that world (yet).
Pastor Michael’s preaching made me realize that an ordinary church members can still be part of what God is doing out there by praying for our missionaries. We hold the rope from home; they do the leg work. Here’s an important quote from his sermon:
It doesn’t matter how orthodox our doctrine is, how inspiring our worship is, how fun our fellowship is, or how great our preaching is. If our church is not committed to prayer and reaching the nations, we are not fulfilling our purpose. We need good music but the church is not a house of music. We need good preaching but the church is not a house of preaching. The church is a house of prayer for the nations.
Jojo Agot 