The Missionary Covenant

On Friday, July 16, 2010, we walked together across the stage to shake the hands of the president of our mission agency and receive a towel printed with "sent to serve" from our dear friend, mentor and Associate Pastor.

Before that moment, however, Chris and I stood with the other candidates in our class and recited the following covenant to and before our great God:

Because ultimate reality is God’s Kingdom, where He will be worshiped by people of every tribe and nation, Because Jesus Christ has redeemed me out of sin and reconciled me to Himself, Because He has chosen to use me in His great global strategy, Because many still have not heard the gospel, And Because Christ will soon return, I publicly covenant before God, my coworkers at ABWE and our partners around the world… to passionately pursue a growing relationship with my Lord Jesus Christ to abandon selfish ambition and make whatever sacrifice necessary to proclaim the gospel to make all other allegiances subordinate to my loyalty to Christ, taking up my cross and following Him to boldly proclaim the gospel of Christ, making disciples, teaching them to live the Word of God in fellowship with one another to never turn back from my commitment to Christ and His call, no matter the cost with God’s enablement through the power of His Word and Spirit, and the prayers of His people.

It was one of the most meaningful moments of our trip. (And this was the result!)