Global GospelSample

Missio Dei in the Neighborhood: Wherever You Go, the Mission Is There

BY FÁBIO MUNIZ

I grew up in a church where missionaries and pastors regularly came to speak to our congregation. The Great Commission was often presented as a compelling call to global missions—to go, leave everything behind, attend seminary, and prepare for ministry in places without churches, Christians, or missionaries. I remember countdowns projected on a screen, showing how many people were going to hell every minute.

I know I’m not the only one who has had this kind of experience. Looking back, I see that while those intentions were sincere, they didn’t fully capture the heart of what Jesus meant in what is called the Great Commission.

Now, 41 years later, I find myself reflecting on those same verses from a new perspective.

The first shift came when I discovered that the Greek verb translated as “go” is actually a present participle—more accurately translated as “going.” That changes everything! The call isn’t just to leave and relocate—it’s to live missionally wherever we are. Wherever I go, I’m invited to make disciples. My life becomes my mission, and my mission becomes my life.

If I were a nurse, that would mean the hospital is where God has planted me—to bear fruit, care, and live out incarnational ministry. The same would apply if I were a lawyer, teacher, or soccer player. Whatever our vocation, we’re invited to live out the Great Commission daily.

I spent 20 years as a bivocational pastor before joining Serve Globally ten years ago. I’ve seen how every country, workplace, and meeting can become an opportunity to listen, act ethically, and embody the message of Christ as a manager, salesperson, corporate trainer, or administrator. The Great Commission became a mission statement I carried into each moment.

The second lesson I’ve learned is that in today’s world, the nations are also coming to us. France is the sixth country I’ve lived in, and I now meet people from dozens of cultures right where I am. My wife, Johnna, and I have worked with people from more than 80 different countries. We practice incarnational ministry by meeting people where they are, sharing life, and embodying the good news through cultural events, seminars, refugee support, lectio divina, and bridge-building wherever we go.

Finally, in a post-Christian context such as France—or even the U.S., where 44 percent of adults under 30 now identify as religiously unaffiliated (Pew Research Center, 2023)—many are tired of religious talk.

So instead of being God’s mouthpiece, perhaps we are called to be God’s ears.

We listen—first to God’s movement in the world, then to others. God is already there before we arrive. Our job is simply to join God in the work.

Reflection Question

Can you think of a time when you were able to see God working before you arrived? What do you see God up to right now in your job, family, and neighborhood?

Prayer

Lord, help me to see that you are already working wherever I go. Help me to find ways to join in your mission and live out your very good news wherever I am. Amen.