It is vital to remember that the last command of Christ to the Apostles, and others listening in, that persons, once settling on their commitment to him, would disseminate (become verbal missionaries for) the Gospel. They were to first live christianly, and then communicate to the world, the promise of God to life, both mortal and immortal. His message related to a call for redemption which would be presently life changing for the penitent. From that point converts were to live out the Christian faith they claimed for themselves. In summary this context of life was in righteousness (right), as defined in Scripture. In firm words, Jesus made clear that this exclusive message from God was to be made personal in the lives of any persons in the world, who would embrace it as a life changing experience. This missionary challenge became forceful, tending to be strikingly successful in the West, but also penetrating to what we now know as the Far East. The Asians were dominated by forces that isolated the priests and other church representatives who had penetrated the areas. In the West it seemed like a miracle that the Christians, under pressure from the Apostles to the Church fathers and converts had penetrated even to the household of Caesar. Early Christians came from every walk of life, as noted in Romans 16, just a generation after the crucifixion of Christ. They were persecuted, from the beginning, and gathered for services in the catacombs of Rome, a place for human skeletal bones. Persecutors were reluctant to appear in the cave grave sites. So forceful were the early Christians, even with strong differences that they moved rapidly from persecuted to majority force, and to social/political/government control. Much of history tends to accent the excesses and hypocrisies of much of that long period, but the missionary thrust, largely through Catholic administrations, pressed on with decisive effort. The common people were often oblivious, or poorly instructed in the inner workings of institutional shenanigans. Church ministry proved effective in purpose to vast common life
The missionary movement was aggressive early in the emergence of Protestantism, but did have growing impact in the Catholic counter-revolution. In the movement westward South America held largely to Catholic influence. North America was largely affected by the strong influence of English Protestantism, and the varieties of evangelical and Christian related movements, including Catholic that penetrated the North American continent above the Mexican territory. The colonists in America made missionary thrusts among the American Indians. This included influences as eminent as Jonathan Edwards, George Washington and others. Efforts picked up after the Revolution, but were hindered by the increasing problems of the influx of variant cultures, and growing options advancing civil life. Principles of land claim and racial culture drew widening differences between the native people and those immigrating into the American/Canadian territories. The American churches began to grow in sending missionaries abroad. The mission movement grew both in denominations and in independent boards. They became aggressively active even during the Great Depression in America. Mission has been highly influential, so that other religions have followed similar procedure, or strengthened their own missionary advance, as has been the situation for the Mormon Church in the decline of resistance to Mormonism and the rise of respect for its adjustments and way of life. The success of missionary minded groups and variant religions, even finding ways through the Islamic mosques to the West, is sufficient witness to the importance of missionary effort generally that has touched nearly all religions influenced by Christian impact on pagan societies and in competition with other faiths. The uses of electronics from radio to internet are not enough to get the job done for any group. The public needs live, devoted neighbors and friends, living out and speaking out the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is to demonstrate the call of God to live in the hope of immortality through the risen Christ, who offers a life worth living presently, in a context of love and peace, for the benefit of all persons, in lives of service to others. Following World War II, the mission effort has shifted from the khaki shorts and pith helmet period to a cultural context and cooperative effort with growing numbers of Christians in the indigenous movement that has added educational, medical and other services to the declaration of the gospel. Christian evangelism incorporated whole life contexts. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020