“Your life only makes sense in the context of God’s plan to finish the Great Commission. God has given us the direction we need to make our lives count and leave our mark on eternity. When we find it, we move from merely existing to truly living life on purpose.” — Claude Hickman, Live Life on Purpose
You’ve had a taste of God’s global plan. Now what? Here are some practical ways to help you find and take your next steps.
Learn
Take the life-changing college-level course Perspectives on the World Christian Movement and discover what God is doing around the world and consider your part in his purposes. Perspectives will help you understand God’s plan for our world—and for your life:
- Navigate the roadmap of the Bible, and with fresh eyes, view God’s overall plan.
- Explore God’s ultimate purpose as you travel through history.
- Discover how you can be strategic by participating in God’s plan during your journey through life.
- Acquire a practical guide to understanding intriguing cultural dynamics.
Classes are offered in cities across the U.S. and around the world, as well as online. Perspectives has also inspired many similar courses and studies. Kairos and Operation WorldView from MissionONE are good for churches and groups. On your own or with others, you might want to work through the Claude Hickman’s book Live Life on Purpose or Jeff Lewis’s Bible study God’s Heart for the Nations.
Grow
Study the workbook Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing His Will by Henry Blackaby, a former church planter in Canada who has inspired many worldwide to prayer and spiritual awakening. This workbook is designed to be studied daily for three months. A few years ago God used this book to reprogram my perspective on guidance and I’ve reviewed this material in detail before each subsequent ministry transition. Blackaby’s prayer is for God to teach you how to:
- hear when God is speaking to you
- clearly identify the activity of God in your life
- believe him to be and do everything he promises
- adjust your beliefs, character, and behavior to him and his ways
- see a direction that he is taking in your life and what he wants to do through you
- clearly know what you need to do in response to his activity in your life
- experience God doing through you what only God can do!
As the author says, “Knowing God does not come through a program, a study, or a method. Knowing God comes through a relationship with a person. This is an intimate love relationship with God. Through this relationship, God reveals himself, his purposes, and his ways; and he invites you to join him where he is already at work.”
For other tools to help you learn and grow, see the resources section of the AskaMissionary.com website.
Do
- Don’t only serve when you’re overseas, but look for ways to serve when you are at home. This will demonstrate your interest to others and help you develop skills you can use wherever you go.
- Make the most of any short-term mission trip opportunities, maybe offering yourself as a leader or going for a longer period of time.
- Invite others into your journey by sharing your questions and ideas with others in your church and opening yourself up to someone who can mentor you.
- Explore AskAMissionary.com and Go.Serve.Love for more help and encouragement.
See also Current State of the World and The Great Commission