There’s a story in the Bible about the Syrian army besieging the city of Samaria, starving it into surrender. Four lepers, outcasts of society, found themselves outside the city gates and starving. They discussed what to do. ‘We’ll starve if we stay here,’ they said. "But even if we could get into the city, we’d starve there too. So let’s surrender to the besieging army. At worst they’ll kill us more quickly than starving to death. But maybe they’ll spare us." So the lepers went over to the enemy camp.

To their surprise they discovered that the enemy had fled. They had heard a sound like the roar of cavalry, and panicked. The lepers walked into a tent, ate and drank, and took clothes, silver and gold. They were helping themselves to the loot when they got pangs of conscience. ‘"We shouldn’t be doing this! We have good news, and we shouldn’t keep it to ourselves…Let’s go straight away and tell the king’s officers." (2 Kings 7 v9, GNB).

This story gives the simplest definition of evangelism: evangelism is one starving person telling another starving person where to find food! The phrase translated ‘good news’ is the Greek word ‘evangelion’, from which we get ‘evangelism’ and ‘evangelist’, which means announcing, proclaiming good news. In Anglo-Saxon, this Greek word was translated as Godspel or Gospel.

The Christian message is called the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news of Jesus: good news about what God has done in sending Jesus Christ to rescue us from our sinful, self-centred lives which hinder any relationship with God; good news of God’s forgiveness and the invitation to have an eternal life of love, purpose and hope with God.

This good news is for sharing with others, not for keeping to ourselves. This is another of God’s purposes for us: to share God’s good news in word and action. Ministry is our service to fellow Christ-followers in the church, but mission is our service to not-yet Christ-followers in the world. Mission is telling and living out the good news of God’s new way of life.

Jesus was the first missionary. He was a missionary from heaven to earth. When he left this earth to return to heaven, he commissioned us to carry on his mission. He said to his disciples, "As the Father has sent me (in the same way that the Father sent me), I am sending you. Then he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." (John 20 v21, NIV).

Jesus gave us a simple summary of our mission: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ (Acts 1 v8, NIV).

Our role in mission, quite simply, is to be a ‘witness’. ‘You will be my witnesses’. A witness is someone who saw something happen, who experienced something, and who describes it to another. A witness is someone who tells what they know, especially when they are asked about it, as in a court of law. Scholars believe that the word ‘witness’ is a much better description of New Testament gospel-sharing than ‘preaching’ or ‘evangelism’. God doesn’t want us to be defence lawyers or salespersons but those who are always ready to explain the hope that we have within us, to anyone who asks, but with gentleness and respect. (1 Pet 3 v16)

One of the main reasons why Christians are reluctant to share God’s good news, is because they think they don’t know enough about Christian faith and the Bible. They haven’t studied enough or been to a Bible College. But Jesus didn’t say we need to be a scholar. He just said you need to be a ‘witness’. Witnesses don’t need to worry about what they don’t know. A witness simply tells what they do know.

A witness of the good news of Jesus Christ simply tells what difference Jesus has made in their life: the freedom of being forgiven, the purpose and hope Jesus has given your life, the healing or the change in character you have experienced. You are an expert witness. You are the expert on your life. So tell it how it is. Tell others the difference Jesus has made in your life, so you can introduce them to Jesus.

But our role in mission is greater than simply telling the good news of Jesus, although that is essential. "As the Father (in the same way) has sent me, I am sending you. (John 20 v21, NIV).

How did God carry out his mission? By becoming one of us, walking in our shoes, sharing our life, teaching & preaching in our language, healing and caring in practical ways. This is what theologians call the incarnation. Jesus affirmed the value of the poor and powerless, the outcast and mentally ill, woman and children, the possessed and the foreigner. Jesus stood against the unjust and exploitative practices of the church and the state, like the Old Testament prophets before him. Jesus lived the life that God had told the prophet Micah was good, "The LORD God has told us what is right and what he demands: "See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God." (Micah 6 v8, CEV)

In the same incarnational way that the Father sent Jesus, we are to be God-in-the-flesh; we are to be the body of Jesus, continuing his mission, his life and message on earth – sharing the good news of God’s forgiveness and transformation, serving those who are hurting or in need, working for peace and justice in our communities and world.

That’s why in our Ministry & Mission Fair today you’ll see opportunities like English Classes for new migrants, activities for mothers and pre-schoolers, Divorce Care, Foster Care, Parenting help, the Alpha Course, Bible in Schools and youth groups to provide direction, help and values for young people; all these aim to bring help and hope to our community.

Jesus said his disciples were to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. These are ever enlarging circles, like ripples from a pond, reaching out from their home community in Jerusalem, to their local province of Judea, to a neighbouring region, and to the rest of the world – Europe, Africa and Asia. Have you ever realised how strategically placed Israel was at the intersection of the major trade routes to each of those continents? A strategic place from which to spread the good news of Jesus, in a strategic time of Roman peace and safe travel on Roman highways.

For us, our Jerusalem is our home community, our family and friends, our neighbourhood and workplace, our places of leisure and community service; it’s the people we are most closely involved with; those most like us and most close to us; those in my world.

Often these are the hardest to share the message of Jesus with. They know us best, our warts and all, and challenge us where they think we fall short of the Christian way. We need to build relationships with them, get to know them, help and serve them where we can. As we are involved in their lives, many opportunities arise to witness to our faith and joy and strength and hope in Jesus. But we do need to speak about our faith for how else will people know who Jesus is and how they can come into relationship with him? Our lives might be loving and purposeful and point to something that is inspiring and transforming and empowering us, but signposts need words to make the destination and goal clear; to describe who it is our lives are reflecting.

The primary reason that we don’t talk readily about our faith in Jesus is fear – fear of the other’s reaction, fear of being rejected, fear of not being able to answer a tough question, fear that they won’t be interested. Look at the results of a survey conducted in the 1980s, about the reasons that Christians were reluctant to talk about their faith:

• No one said they didn’t care.

• 9% didn’t get around to it.

• 12% said that their own lives didn’t measure up.

• 28% said they didn’t know how to speak about their faith.

• 51% said they were afraid of what others would think of them.

This last figure suggests that we don’t think people are interested in spiritual issues. In the 1970s and 80s I ran training sessions for young people about how to share their faith and we often conducted a survey in the shopping malls. To the question, "If you could know God as a friend, would you be interested?" how many do you think replied ‘Yes’? Over 60%!

Recent surveys in NZ and overseas support this, clearly indicating that people are more interested in spiritual issues now than 10 years ago. A Gallup poll a couple of years ago discovered that 65 million Americans have no church home but 34 million would be willing to attend if someone invited them!

I’ve heard of people in NZ who think that you cannot attend a Presbyterian church unless youre a Presbyterian! There was a man in Dannevirke who didn’t attend church but whose neighbour was a Christian. The neighbour didn’t want to offend the man and took some years to pluck up the courage to speak about faith issues. Finally he asked his neighbour one day if he’d like to come to church with them. The man replied, "Ive been waiting for years for you to ask me." Another U.S. Gallup poll said that teenagers would rather talk about God than sex or drugs or music – can you believe that?

So our "Jerusalem" is those most like us and most near us. "Judea" represents our local region, where people are same as us but nearby; in Palmerston North city and Manawatu/Horowheua/ Tararua. In a small country like ours it could include the whole of NZ. This mission can include beach missions, prison ministry, prisoners aid society, drug arm, women’s refuge, Radio Rhema

"Samaria" are those who are different to us but nearby. The Samaritans shared a common heritage with the Jews of Jesus day but had inter-married with foreigners and developed a different religion and culture, even though they lived within the Jewish region. These are people within our own country who have a different culture, Maori, Pacific Islanders, immigrants, international students, and what we’d call sub-cultures like prisons, youth or the gay community. More understanding and training is required to relate the gospel effectively here.

"The ends of the earth" is more clear. It’s global mission to those who are different from us and distant from us. This means long-term, being trained, immersed in another culture and learning a new language. It is often costly, lonely and hard work.

One day Bishop Fulton Sheen was in an African leper colony, and was repulsed by these open ugly sores on the bodies of everybody laying there in the dirt - open, pussy wounds. As the bishop leaned over to talk to a man, the cross he was wearing on a chain around his neck broke. The cross fell into that open wound. He said, "You know, for a minute I was just repulsed. I wanted to just kind of step back. And then all of a sudden I was overcome with love for this person who had nothing." He said, "I reached into the sore and I took up the cross." That, friends, is what God’s mission is all about. It is about helping to bring healing to broken, messed up lives. If we're not doing that in some way, we're not really following Jesus. It's about costly, sacrificial love. It breaks us out of self-centeredness and comfortable lives.

We have a fine history of people going from this congregation to the ends of the earth, in answer to God’s call. In our 50 year history, 33 people have served in overseas mission situations for longer than a year. That doesn’t include the 20-something people who are in our congregation today who have engaged in mission in other cultures for up to a year; some for longer before joining St Albans. They have served in aid and development, compassionate service of people in need, church planting and sharing the good news of Jesus. There is a list of them in your Ministry and Mission Directory. These are people you can talk with today, at the M&M Fair.

It is God’s desire that all people should come into fellowship with him and live their lives as his friends and partners, building his new world of love and justice and peace. Apostle Peter wrote in his letter, "God does not wish that anyone should lost, but God wants all people to change their hearts and lives." (2nd Peter 3 v9) Jesus said, "Go into all the world and make disciples from all nations…" (Matt 28 v19) and in Mark is recorded as saying, "Go everywhere in the world and tell the Good News to everyone." (Mk 16 v15)

Will you play your part in God’s seamless mission that begins at the church door and doesn’t stop till it reaches the ends of the earth? Do you want to know if you qualify? If you have said Yes to God and are a follower Jesus Christ, and are still breathing, you qualify! Let’s be bold and pray that most dangerous of prayers, "God use me in your mission".