To be a missionary is the call of all of us. According to Marriam-Webster’s dictionary a missionary is someone who propagates a religious faith or carries on humanitarian works. Propagate meaning to foster growing knowledge, familiarity or acceptance.
Now all Christians through their Baptism, in the name of the Holy Trinity, are not only saved, but entrusted with the task – the mission – of baring witness to Christ to others. As Catholics we further commit to living this out in the Sacrament of Confirmation. So all Catholics are called to be missionaries. We are even reminded every time we attend mass. At the end after the final blessing the priest says, go forth and spread the God News.
Now the Catholic Church at the heart of it all is missionary. The Catholic Church doesn’t have a mission, rather the mission, which Jesus Christ started has a Church. When Jesus said to Peter, upon this rock I build my church, Jesus gave the mission to all of his disciples for all of the ages to come. Which today is both you and me.
When we look at the apostles and when we look at Jesus during His ministry. No two disciples, no two encounters with Christ or even parables were ever the same. Why? Because the mission is creative. It is meant to reach and relate to all people. To the rich, the poor, the intellects and the uneducated. It was meant for everyone. So the mission needed to be creative in the various forms and ways that people would understand.
So when we talk about being a creative missionary, it should not limit to the understanding or belief of someone who is good at photography, dance, singing, poetry or any of the fine art skills. Rather to be an effective creative missionary, we are called to know who you are in Christ and how you authentically live out your Christ identity. If you are blessed with the talent and skills of public speaking, then go out and preach the Word of God in front of large crowds. If you are given the gift of music, sing the Word of God. If you can dance, proclaim the Word of God through your body movements. Even if you feel like you have no skills or talent, you can be kind to a stranger and simply smile. A simple act of kindness like holding the door open for someone in a world that promotes individualism and selfishness IS creatively evangelizing.
As YFCs we are young people being and bring Christ wherever we are, by living this out we are all being creative missionaries.
Physical skills and talents you can always learn and acquire over time, practice and dedication. But it all means nothing if we first don’t recognize the heart and reason for it all. And if we don’t already see and know that we are all creative missionaries!
In Christ,
Meagan Webb