Roots Report – The DMSC

RELEASED TO SERVE

By Miriam Plowman

“To live under mandate is to be entrusted with a task of lasting significance. Mandates are not commands. A mandate releases authority and responsibility to pursue endeavors of historic importance. God has entrusted to Christ, and with Him to the Church, a mandate to fulfill His purpose for all of history.”  – Steven Hawthorne

Do you understand the role of the Direct Mission Sending Council (DMSC)? It is a handful of ordinary men and women gifted by God and given a specific mandate by First Baptist Arlington:

Release our people to serve cross-culturally,

reaching the ends of the earth bearing witness to Jesus.

Acts 13 tells us of the first recorded missionary team being sent out from a local church. It is a beautiful picture of a church united, seeking God, engaging in spiritual formation, listening to God speak and then acting in faith. The interesting thing is how the Greek word behind “sent them away” actually could be translated “released.” It so connected with what was taught here at FBCA in the Perspectives class this past spring by Steven Hawthorne.

I didn’t fully understand this mandate when I was asked to serve, almost three years ago, on the DMSC. It takes a lot of work, time, money, prayers and a heart sensitive to God to do the work mandated by the church. There’s more to “releasing” people than I ever imagined. I am still learning. But one thing I know – I am thankful for a church with the vision to be like the church in Antioch, staff committed to leading and all those willing to take on the yoke of what is required to release our people to serve cross-culturally reaching the ends of the earth bearing witness to Jesus.

I praise God we’ve been asked to live under this mandate, being entrusted with a task of lasting significance. May it be true of the council, those we send and our entire church,“I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You gave Me to do.” (John 17:4 NASB)