BY SCOTT GRISWOLD

here is my niece?" shouted Veasna, a Cambodian Bible worker. More than 100 children were milling around after being trucked back from a Vacation Bible School program. That morning he had brought with him on his motorcycle a 7-year-old girl named Srey Moni. Now she had disappeared among the thousands in the city of Phnom Penh. Veasna and all the volunteers dropped to their knees and earnestly prayed for God to help them find her. They knew how serious this was, since children were often kidnapped in the city. Then they headed out in different directions to search for her. Veasna drove frantically through the dusty streets looking down every alley for Srey Moni. "Please let me find her, dear Lord," Veasna cried. Finally he spotted the dirty, tear-streaked face of that lost little girl. With joy he grabbed her up in his arms and raced back to tell the good news.

Jesus showed the same deep passion for the lost when He said, "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?" (Luke 15:4).* More than anything else, Jesus wants to make sure that every one of His lost children is in His arms for eternity.

His last command on earth was "Preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). His last promise was "You shall be witness . . . to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). According to Him, the last end-time sign would be the proclamation of the gospel in all the world (Matt. 24:14). In these last days He raised up a remnant to give a last message "to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people" (Rev. 14:6).

Is Jesus really interested in taking you to heaven? Of course He is! He also wants your neighbor there. What about the 1 billion plus people who have never even heard their heavenly Father's name? He also wants them there. That is probably His deepest desire. There is no greater priority. How does He intend to reach them? One of the ways God has chosen is through the unity of the church. Jesus prayed for unity so that "the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me" (John 17:23). He promises that our connection with Him and the resulting love for one another will draw the world into His arms. Have you seen a family that loves to be together? Aren't you drawn to be with them? That's the way God wants to use our unity.

This unity especially impacts the world when we join together in mission, God's mission. When the love of God streams through us with Veasna-like urgency, the world can't help but notice.

What It Means
This unity means that church members take up the mission right where they live and work. True Christians see each person they meet as a child who must be introduced to their heavenly Father. A Seventh-day Adventist car mechanic works his or her trade with thoroughness and honesty. He or she has determined to lead customers to know a God of faithfulness. A Seventh-day Adventist businessperson uses his or her wealth to help others advance, always watching for an opportunity to turn people's eyes to heavenly treasures.

Beautiful unity comes as the pastor empowers and partners with the members to reach coworkers, customers, neighbors, families, and friends. That is why God gave some to be "pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith" (Eph. 4:11-13). The results? "Were every one of you a living missionary, the message for this time would speedily be proclaimed in all countries, to every people and nation and tongue" (Ellen G. White, Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 438).

Evil powers try to thwart God's plan by bringing division to the church. But a church unified under God's mission doesn't waste its time arguing. A church board may hit a sensitive issue and be locked in a difficult discussion. However, when they kneel down and ask God to fill their hearts with His Spirit, they will know what priorities to pursue, and many problems will dissolve. Then missions will not be a program of the church, but the purpose of all its programs.

There are more than 15 countries with no Seventh-day Adventist church, and millions of people elsewhere who do not have anyone near them who can introduce them to God. God's passionate mission to reach all people must weld us into a unified worldwide fellowship. When we feel God's heart, we cannot worry merely about the growth of our own church, conference, or country. The lost sheep are dying while the 99 are well fed.

We are living in a time period where missionaries must go from everywhere to everywhere. Each nationality, transformed by Christ, brings a special and needed perspective. Each group needs the stretching and unity that an expanded mission will bring. Those in city churches especially must look at the pews and ask, "What ethnic groups in my community are not here?" Those of us who are isolated from the unreached must lift our eyes further and leave the 99 in order to go where no one has yet gone. At the very least, let us go via our money and prayers.

Practical About It
One church in California decided to repave its parking lot. Some members had been overseas and realized the great impact this money could make elsewhere. The board wrestled with this issue; then they united around a plan to give 10 percent of the budgeted amount to build a church in southern Asia. They did not experience lack at home, just greater blessing.

Our heavenly Father absolutely would not like to spend eternity without any of the people we will pass today. What a joy we experience when we see them through His eyes. This will also bring new unity and excitement to our families. Parents will make it their highest priority to lead their children into a dynamic relationship with God. The children will be drawn to Jesus as they see their parents carve out time from their busy schedules to spend with them. As the whole family experiences God's love they will want to share it with others. Many children grow up bored with religion, thinking that it consists only of going to church and obeying rules. But parents can determine to change this by bringing Christ's love more fully into the home and doing mission activities together.

One family I know decided to celebrate their daughter's birthday in a unique way. After eating together with the guests, they all packed sack lunches. Then each family went into the community to give the lunch to a homeless person. They came back together and shared their experiences. The daughter reported it as "the best birthday yet!" A family can teach health classes together, do a puppet ministry, visit a hospital, go on a church building trip, or give Bible studies. Such mission experiences will tie their hearts to one another in close unity.

For three and a half years Jesus worked to unify His church. The night before His death the disciples were fighting over positions, refusing to serve one another. Then they fled and denied their Lord. Fifty days later they were unified and turned Jerusalem upside down with courageous preaching that would spread throughout the world. What made the difference? The death and resurrection of Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. That could happen again today.

Today we must gaze into the Father's love and Jesus' eyes until we see our own selfishness and turn from it with all our hearts. Today we must receive His gracious forgiveness and know that He doesn't want to spend eternity without us. Today we must put aside our differences and freely forgive one another. Then we can ask for the mighty Holy Spirit because of His promise: "How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" (Luke 11:13). As the Holy Spirit falls on us He will bring God's character into our lives through the fruits of the Spirit. As a result, our God will be known in our workplaces, our churches, our families, and the world.

One day we will join "a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb" (Rev. 7:9).

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*All Scripture quotations in this article are from the New King James Version.

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Scott Griswold is the director of the Buddhist Study Center in Thailand. He formerly was a pastor in northern California and church planter in Cambodia. His favorite hobby is being a daddy.