KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP)–Wanted: People willing to die.
Missions professor Keith Eitel posted this job description during the Dec. 3 World Mission Day emphasis of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo.
Eitel, of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in North Carolina, described the job to students as an unknown placement with a salary that requires a willingness to sacrifice all wants. The hours of this particular job will not fit in a normal 24-hour day. The duties include seeking out all ways to pour out the gospel. Eitel said there are no insurance guarantees, but the retirement benefits are “out of this world.”
“If you are interested,” Eitel said, “contact the King in person at 1-800-PRAY. The King answers 24-hours a day.”
The missions professor challenged students be willing to pay the price of testifying for their Lord. That price may involve anything from a door slamming in a face to torture or even death. Eitel said the ultimate goal set before the church is taking the gospel to all the nations.
“The realization of this great command can be overwhelming when we look at the enormity of the task,” he said. “Lucky for us, Jesus didn’t leave us wondering how to following the commandment. He gives us a strategy to follow. That is to be a witness to all nations.”
The way to tackle this massive goal is one people group at a time, Eitel said, noting that such a group may be in one’s back yard or across an ocean. There are more than 1.7 billion people in the world who have not heard the gospel, he said, and even in the “so called” evangelized areas of the world, such as the United States, there are urgent needs to spread the gospel.
“We need people who are willing to go outside of their comfort zone and be pioneers,” Eitel said. “If you stay in your little box of experiences you are used to — you will never do more than maintenance work. Go out into the world and do the job God has set before us.
“Don’t let the kindled flame pass,” he urged. “What we do with it may make all the difference in the world in the destiny of those yet to hear.”
