Discover Your Mission Field

Where is the mission field?

You’ve seen the kiosks in malls and at amusement parks that identify where you are so you can see where you want to go. There’s a notation for the place you are standing that says, “You are here.”

Some people think the mission field is “over there” in another country or to unreached people groups in our own. They think of “going to the field” requires a journey of many miles. Some think you must be a career missionary to “go”. The truth is though that the mission field is wherever you are. “You are here.”

Jesus said in Acts 1:8, “But 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.”

You can help children understand this by engaging them in thinking about their mission fields. Consider these:

● Family

● Neighborhood

● Church

● School

● Community

● State

● Nation

● World

You can also help them understand that they can be missionaries - sharing their faith through words and actions - in age-appropriate ways wherever they are. Encourage children to understand that missions is a lifestyle.

For Southern Baptists, “You are here” means that we are actively engaged in missions where we are and also supporting through prayer and financial gifts those whose “here” is “there.” The two agencies assigned the tasks of sending career and volunteer missionaries out in both short-term and long-term assignments are the North American Mission Board and the International Mission Board.

North American Mission Board is assigned to focus on the United States, Canada, and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The International Mission Board is assigned to focus on all other countries in the world.