The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. Titus 1:5-9
“So many ones in the towns cry for bread, and there is no one to break it to them. Woe, woe to sleeping bishops. It is therefore advisable that the bishop should have a mission given every three years in every village, however small it may be. This I say, because there are missionaries who, in districts where small villages are close to one another, are accustomed to give a mission in a central place for all of them at the same time.
I respect their zeal in wishing to sanctify all these souls at the same time; but I do not approve of their mode of action, and I would ask the bishops for the love that they have for the glory of Jesus Christ not to be satisfied with missions thus given in groups: they should take care that each place, however small it may be, may have its special mission, which is to last at least for eight days.
For we know that if a mission is given in a place for several neighboring parishes, the faithful who go there are those that need it the least. Those, on the contrary, who are laden with sin the most, and are consequently less careful of their salvation, do not attend it at all, under the pretext that it is too far, or that the sermon is over too late, or that the weather is bad, etc.
And so they remain at home and lead the same wicked lives, while if the mission, had been given in their own church they would have been compelled to attend it at least out of human respect, fearing to be looked upon as reprobates. I speak from experience. We have seen many places where it was said a mission had been given; but because it had been given in some central church, or because it had been given in too short a time, we found there people really abandoned, as if no mission had been given there.”
Alphonsus de Liguori (1696-1787) in The Complete Works of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, translated from the Italian, edited by Rev. Eugene Grimm (New York: Benzinger, 1890) 465.
In Today’s Scripture, Paul exhorts Titus to put order and oversight in every city. About 1,700 years later, Alphonsus exhorts the bishops to wake up from their sleep and fulfill their missional calling. It’s a similar exhortation!
In this excerpt, Alphonsus specifically wants them to show up and do work in “every town” where the gospel is needed. This mirrors the exact same language as Paul. It’s easy to minister where the gospel is widely known.
Alphonsus calls for a mission every 3 years for at least 8 days. Why study this? I am in Pakistan for 8 days. I have found that such a visit that spans more than a week makes a difference in empowering workers.
By activating and deploying staff and volunteers to countries every 3 years, there’s built in accountability to put to work what you learn until the next visit. How are these missions funded? God’s people serve as senders.
At GTP, I praise God that our 18 staff and hundreds of volunteers now freely serve missional workers in 146 countries and territories (and counting). See the GTP at 6 infographic here for more details.
Also, as the infographic notes, we have 874 givers over the past 6 years sending gifts from 86 countries. That’s not a typo! Those that have been blessed, pass the blessing on to others. It’s God’s design to help mission go forth.
Related to your generosity, how might you support those who brought the gospel to you? How are you investing in the spreading of the good news to others? If you want to serve as a GTP sender, click here to give.
Whether you support GTP, consider also going on mission somewhere for at least 8 days every 3 years. And if you are an overseer, do you need to wake up and mobilize people to go on mission?
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