William Carey was known as the “father of modern missions.”  He was a Baptist minister in the early 1800’s.  The church, during this time, was comfortable with the status quo.  The church was not only not doing the mission of evangelism, it was teaching against it.  William was moved by this painting, by Mathias Grunewald (1515), that has John the Baptist pointing to Jesus as the Messiah predicted from the scriptures.  William then spent the rest of his life committed to mission work in India.

This painting and William Carey inspire me to keep to the vision.  To keep the focus on what is vital.  To be a community of faith, introducing people to Jesus, and helping them fall in love with him.  Don’t point people to a church, a program, a human personality, or a fellowship, but simply and powerfully to Jesus!  When we, as a community of faith, are doing that, God will do great things!  Here is an inspiring quote by William Carey:

“Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God”

Is there a desire to do mission work in your faith community?  Are you expecting great things from God?  Are you attempting great things for God?  These questions continue to humble me.