Missions Is For Worship

Nick Minerva • Mar 08, 2022

It’s easy to become overwhelmed by everything that is going on in our world today, isn’t it? One of the things that people consistently wonder about in times of difficulty is “what can we do?”


  • It’s easy to dig down into our political trenches. 
  • It’s easy to give way to fear. 
  • It’s easy to give way to fleshly anger.


There’s a temptation to circle the wagons, play defense, and just hunker down until Jesus returns. After all, what can we do?


The answer is missions. 


And what we are going to see in this post is that Missions is for worship. Look at Psalm 96:1-3.


Psalm 96:1-3 Sing a new song to the LORD; let the whole earth sing to the LORD. Sing to the LORD, bless his name; proclaim his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his wondrous works among all peoples.


One of the reasons I love this entire Psalm is the continual call to worship. 


Throughout Psalm 96 we are called to


  • Sing a new song
  • Let the whole earth sing
  • Sing to the Lord
  • Proclaim his salvation
  • Declare his glory
  • Declare his wondrous works
  • Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength
  • Bring him offerings
  • Worship the Lord
  • Be glad and rejoice
  • Shout for joy


I love the all-consuming, passionate picture of worship we are given and called to. This is not tame, silent, hands-held worship. That has its place, but the picture we see here is white-hot worship.  


This Psalm paints a high view of God and the result is the all-encompassing praise of his people. God is too great to be silent about. God is so big and large and majestic in the eye of the Psalmist that he calls the entire earth to join in the praise of God. The majesty of God demands the worship of all creation. 


God is so magnificent that the Psalmist says that we need to tell everyone about his greatness, goodness, and wondrous works. Tell all the peoples that their idols are worthless, but that God is everything! The Lord is so much greater than any other god humanity can conjure up. 


Tell the nations that God is truly reigning. You don’t have to fear or worry, because God has firmly established the earth. And because God has firmly established the earth we can boldly proclaim his goodness. We don’t have “hold on” until the end, we boldly work to advance God’s kingdom.


But this Psalm also brings a warning. Verse 13 tells us that the Lord is coming to judge the earth. So we go to them so that we can call them into worship. We go to every nation and people group so that all can hear of the magnificence of God. 


God has made us for a global purpose. God has called us to go to every nation, every people group, everywhere proclaiming the goodness of his name.


Mark 16:15 Then he said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.


This is because the glory of God is worthy of being worshiped by all creation. This should not exhaust us but exhilarate us. J. Campbell White was the first secretary of the Layman’s Missionary Movement in the early 1900s. The Layman’s Missionary Movement was birthed out of the New York Haystack Prayer Meeting and focused on helping local churches with foreign missions. (https://library.columbia.edu/content/dam/libraryweb/locations/burke/fa/mrl/ldpd_4492661.pdf) J. Campbell White said:


“Most men are not satisfied with the permanent output of their lives. Nothing can wholly satisfy the life of Christ within his followers except the adoption of Christ’s purpose toward the world he came to redeem. Fame, pleasure, and riches are but husks and ashes in contrast with the boundless and abiding joy of working with God for the fulfillment of his eternal plans. The men who are putting everything into Christ’s undertaking are getting out of life its sweetest and most priceless rewards.” ( J. Campbell White, “The Layman’s Missionary Movement,” in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader, 225)


God has made us for a global purpose. We were created to do more than just sit and worry about your circle. We were created to do more than just show up on a Sunday morning. We were created to co-labor with God to advance his kingdom. God has created us for worship and to call all peoples into that worship.


Missions is for worship. Worship fuels missions. 

A Creed To Remind The Gathered Church Of Its New Life In Christ

By Nick Minerva • 14 Jul, 2023
When I was pastoring I wanted to read a blessing over the church that would remind all of us of our new life in Christ. So I wrote this new life creed and every week I would read it and remind us of what Christ had done for us. We gather together as believers professing our great need We acknowledge that we have fallen short We confess that we are rebels who have gone our own way Apart from Christ, we stand condemned, guilty, and unable to save ourselves But what we are incapable of doing, God did In his infinite love, God made a way of salvation for all who would believe Jesus willingly laid down his life and received the just punishment we deserve So that could walk in new life So yes, we confess our great need We humbly recognize that apart from Christ we are incapable of any good thing But we also proclaim that because of the finished work of the cross we will never be apart from Christ We are forever secure in the love of the Father We have been sealed by the Holy Spirit All because of the sacrifice of the Son, Jesus Christ. We are no longer in bondage to sin We are no longer facing righteous wrath We have been declared holy by our King And nothing on heaven or earth will change that reality This gathering is a testimony to our redeemed state We pursue holy living to be an authentic demonstration of the love we have for Christ We believe that we have been empowered by grace to meet our every need And we gladly anticipate the complete fulfillment of our adaption and the remaking of this world at the coming of our Lord To Christ be glory forever and ever Amen

A Praying Church: A Book Review

By Nick Minerva • 23 May, 2023
Prayer is one of those topics that always seems to convict me. I have never heard a sermon or read a book on prayer and not been challenged. Even as I am writing this review there is a bit of imposter syndrome because I know I should pray more. In A Praying Church , Paul Miller writes about how to become a people of hope in a discouraging world through prayer. And he does so in a way that was very authentic and accessible. While I was consistently challenged, I was also consistently encouraged. Throughout the book, he takes you on his journey of developing a personal prayer life plus countless stories of ministries that developed communal prayer as a vital component of their life together. One thing that struck home with me throughout these stories was the reality that prayer always grows out of desperation for God. There were several things that I found very helpful in this book. One of them was the connection between a life yielded to the Holy Spirit and a vibrant prayer life. The power to do anything of eternal importance comes from the Holy Spirit and the Spirit moves in response to prayer. Paul shows us a biblical pattern we see throughout the New Testament. Prayer-Spirit-Jesus-power. However, this is not a simple formula to get God to do what you want. Another thing I appreciated about this book is Paul tells us time and again that the Spirit often moves in ways we don’t expect and that almost always includes difficulties. The Spirit enables us to look more like Jesus and that means joining him in the fellowship of his suffering. So this is not a “how to turn God into your personal genie” scheme, like many books on prayer. God often answers in ways we don’t expect and in places we don’t anticipate. This book is also full of practical help. I’ve already mentioned the stories he tells, but Paul also offers several helpful charts, strategies, and ideas to help put into place what he writes about (and lives by.) At the end of each chapter, he has a section called “A Word To Pastors” with a few paragraphs of wisdom to help them become a person of prayer and then lead their congregation to become a church of prayer. This book also made me thankful that I am a part of a church that has sought to grow in corporate prayer over the last few years. This would be a great book for any ministry leader who is burdened with the prayer life of his or her church. But it’s also a great read for any believer seeking to develop their own prayer life. Crossway was kind to send me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. You can get a copy of it at the affiliate link below.

Non-Toxic Masculinity: A Book Review

By Nick Minerva • 28 Apr, 2023
Let me start this review by saying everyone should read this book. If you've grown up in Evangelicalism, you‘ve no doubt heard of purity culture. For the last several years we have seen the harm that has come as a result of this sub-group of Christianity. In Non-Toxic Masculinity, Zachary Wagner does an excellent job unpacking its teaching and the damage that has come as a result. He explains so well the angst I've been feeling with the movement and how often the Church falls short and winds up doing more damage. But unlike many critiques, this one also points a way forward. We know what toxic male sexuality looks like. We see it in the news and unfortunately, in the Church. But what does healthy male sexuality look like? What does it look like for me? What will it look like for my boys? In my heart, I know what I want it to look like, but so often I struggle to find the right words to express it. Non-Toxic Masculinity paints a healthy picture that is (re)humanizing and ultimately looks like Jesus, who, like all of us, had a sexual body. Zach is also very transparent in this book and God used his transparency to encourage, challenge, and convict me. As you read his story you will no doubt find yourself resonating with him on some level. Every man should read this book for themselves first and foremost. But if you have sons, nephews, grandsons, or young boys in your life, reading it is a must. Non-Toxic Masculinity is a breath of fresh air that will prove to be a tremendous resource for generations. Thank you Zach for writing it and sharing your story to serve us.
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