CTS exists to form servants in Jesus Christ who will … reach the lost….

After His glorious resurrection from the dead, our Lord told the disciples that just as He was sent by the Father, so was He sending them.  The apostolic church does not just sit on its hands and watch the world go by.  It is actively working to make Christ’s love known to all people.  We have a divine imperative to make disciples of all nations.  It is an urgent task because our Lord warned that the night is coming when no one can work, meaning that the end is near and then it will be too late for reaching the lost.

I’d like to simply make two points:

• Sometimes, in our circles, folks wil appear to make a division between those who are guardians of the pure doctrine and those who are mission-minded.  Truthfully, if those two things ever do get broken apart, then both sides are deficient.  To imply that pure doctrine is unimportant is to imply that a correct understanding of God’s Word is unimportant.  And that is tantamount to saying that God Himself is unimportant because He is never separate from His Word.  On the other hand, to imply that mission is unimportant is equally an affront to God, because it is the very nature of God to seek and save the lost.  If one is not passionate about missions, then one does not know God.  But if one is not equally passionate about pure doctrine, one does not truly know God nor love his neighbor.  The doctrine is the seed that the missionaries sow.  Impure seed will not yield a good harvest no matter how hard we work.

• The work of missions is urgent, but not frantic.  There is a difference between being zealous for evangelization and being panicked about it.  Occasionally, our rousing rhetoric about reaching the lost verges upon hysteria, or so it could be perceived.  The mandate of Christ to make disciples is an easy yoke to bear, a light burden (Matthew 11:30).  It is our joy in Christ which drives us, not fear of failure.  Remember that it is God’s labor which saves sinners, not ours in His behalf.  He will use men as His instruments, but the fulfillment of His will is not contingent upon our performance.

Every class in our curriculum prepares you for the work of evangelization.  There is nothing taught here which is not relevant to mission work.  What would be the point of that?  Mission work is bringing sinners the very gifts of God for salvation.  By learning the scriptures, you will be made wise for salvation.  By learning how to preach, teach, conduct liturgy, care for the sick, do apologetics, and so forth, you will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to be a useful servant in God’s vineyard.