I went running this morning and saw an older lady, named Judy, sitting outside her apartment smoking. I walked up to her and began discussing her faith. I, eventually, invited her to come to church with me. (The church I attend is one block down the street from her apartment.) Judy chuckled slightly and replied as she pointed to a church next door to her apartment complex, “You know, they’ve never invited me once to come to their church and I live right next door; they see me all the time.”
“… and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria…” Acts 1:8b
Let me encourage you to examine your immediate surroundings – your Jerusalem; God has placed you there for a specific reason. There could be someone as close as the next cubicle at your office or someone in your neighborhood that you have an opportunity to love. Pastors, when there are people in the immediate neighborhood surrounding your church that is hurting, is your church really engaging in effective ministry? Yes, and I too take it as a challenge for my own church that I attend. Often we look to doing missions in foreign lands (different cities, states, or countries), but there exists a ripe harvest outside our doorstep.
For some of you, your Jerusalem maybe your own family. I attended Carson-Newman College for my undergraduate studies. Being a religious school, many missions teams were organized for Spring Break. The college had required chapels and the chapel before Spring Break was a commissioning service for these student missionaries. All students who were doing some kind of mission work were encouraged to be recognized at this chapel. As a student was called, their area missions were also mentioned. Occasionally, the campus ministries department would miss a few people in the commissioning ceremony. A general announcement was made to the congregation for anyone who was not called, to please come down to the front to also be commissioned. I remember one year, a friend of mine who was an FCA officer with me, responded to the general invitation. She walked down and introduced herself and humbly shared that while some of the students were going to other states and countries for the week, she was going home for Spring Break. She shared how going home was a mission trip for her because no one in her family was a believer.
I do not know where you are, but opportunities to love and serve are right there with you. Look around, Jerusalem might be closer than you think.
