Read: 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10
For from you sounded out the word of the Lord…in every place…:- 1 Thessalonians 1:8
Some zealous persons, who would not be deterred, set up the Basel Evangelical Missionary Society. Gradually a complete missionary organisation, with its own overseas programs was established. There were those who thought there was no need for such an organisation to send missionaries into the world when Swiss people themselves needed Christ. This is a common argument that leads to “paralysis by analysis”.
You will notice from this history that the Swiss people attempted to go “into all the world”. They were not distracted by the fact that there were sinners in their own cities. Jesus never said that we should go when everyone around us is saved. He just said that we should go! Notice how the Church in Switzerland sent missionaries to all parts of the world at great cost. They sent people to Russia, West Africa and Asia.
One thousand eight hundred years after Christ had given his instruction, there was a need to obey and go into all the world! Today, two thousand years after Jesus gave the
missionary command, I declare to you that there is still a need for us to go! We must go! If we love him, we must feed his sheep! We must find a way of going to every single nation of this world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The example of the missionaries of old should serve as inspiration to us in this modern world. We must not just say, “Wow, that was a great effort!” We must rise up and do the same and more!