The story of the first Pentecost reminds us of the universality of the church’s mission.
Churches everywhere are called to participate in God’s mission to the whole of creation. This includes the obligation to proclaim, in word and deed, the good news of the kingdom of God to people in every part of the inhabited earth.
Whatever the excesses that have characterized the ways in which the church has undertaken the responsibility to bear witness to Christ, no excuse is adequate to limit or restrict the urgency of the church’s vocation to spread the gospel across the world.
This mission is foreshadowed in the composition of the gathering in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. In his characterization of the event, the author of Acts 2 may be understood to be communicating to his readers the extensive reach of the church’s mission. He states that there were “devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem” (verse 5), and he made it clear that the people assembled at Pentecost were able, in their own languages, to hear the message concerning “God’s deeds of power” (verse 11). By this means, the author of Acts may be understood to be urging worldwide mission as part and parcel of the church’s vocation.
Today, international travel and migration have changed, sometimes radically, the composition of human communities. This has intensified the church’s awareness of the need for engagement in mission at the local level. However, it has not diminished the need for Christians to cross frontiers in order to share the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. What it requires is that the methods we use are never exploitative nor self-serving. Instead, they are redemptive and liberative. They reflect considerable regard for the dignity, uniqueness and freedom of those with whom we share our faith.
As we commemorate the first Pentecost, may our zeal for the worldwide mission of the church be renewed and may we, in humility but with confidence, proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God so that knowledge of the glory of God will fill the earth.
Neville Callam is general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance.