What Is an Ambassador for Christ?
To answer the question, “What is an ambassador for Christ,” we must look to the passage of the Bible where Paul used the phrase. In Second Corinthians 5:20, Paul wrote, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (ESV). Two verses earlier (2 Corinthians 5:18), Paul explained that these ambassadors have the “ministry of reconciliation.” This means that believers have the job of being representatives of Christ here on earth, and we are to focus on reconciling people to the love of God.[1]
GFA World’s national missionaries are among the ambassadors of God, serving in His ministry of reconciliation. Even though the traditional description of an ambassador involves serving in a foreign country and our national missionaries generally work among their own people, the Bible tells us that believers are not of this world (John 15:19), meaning they are ambassadors of their heavenly home. The backgrounds of national missionaries make them especially effective in their ministries. Because they are from the country in which they work, they already know the culture and the language. They are able to move freely in areas that are highly restricted to outsiders, and the communities are more willing to accept them. Most importantly, they have a burden and a passion to reach their own people with the love of God.[2]
Through the labor of our national missionaries, we are seeing more people experience the love of Christ every year. This love is expressed by missionaries as they share the Good News of hope in Christ and pray for those in need. They also become the hands and feet of Christ in tangible ways by meeting the physical needs of poverty-stricken people. Whether those needs are a Jesus Well that provides clean water, an income-generating gift or warm blankets and clothes, national missionaries living among the people see them firsthand. They know what daily life is like and can organize ways to provide what is urgently needed.[3]
Paul was a missionary himself, so he knew the value these ministers have. National missionaries are a central part of GFA’s work in the ambassadors’ ministry of reconciliation. When their physical needs are met, people see the love of God and want to know Him. And this work is not just for missionaries; you can be an ambassador for Christ as well by meeting physical needs around you and sharing the love of God with people in your life. You can also partner with GFA and sponsor a national missionary. It only takes $30 a month to support a missionary and allow them to continue working among those who need it most.[4]
[1] “What Does It Mean to Be an Ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20)?” Got Questions. Accessed October 13, 2024. https://www.gotquestions.org/ambassador-for-Christ.html.
[2] “Sponsor a National Missionary.” GFA World. Accessed October 13, 2024. https://www.gfa.org/sponsor/.
[3] “About National Missionaries.” GFA World. Accessed October 13, 2024. https://www.gfa.org/sponsor/why-national-missionaries/.
[4] Ibid.