Our Lord s last words on earth provide the mandate for today s missionary movement. A solid foundation of church planting and development at home was basic to His plan. It is more than clich to say that the light that shines farthest burns brightest at home.
Missions begins locally, builds momentum and ripples outward.
When priorities are reversed, giving to foreign missions outstrips investment in Jerusalem ministries, and imbalance results. This process can sap the strength of the home base. The history of the British Isles illustrates this truth. Once a potent force in evangelism and church development, Great Britain today is a mission field itself. Its great cities, villages and newtowns are places of spiritual vacuum, biblically unchurched after a generation neglected its Jerusalem.