Special Event · Missions Commissioning

Here Am I, Send Me

Isaiah 6:1-8; Romans 10:13-15; Matthew 9:35-38; Acts 13:1-3

The call to missions begins with a vision of God's holiness, is fueled by the reality of human lostness, and is sustained by the prayers of a sending church

A missions commissioning sermon that fires the church's heart for the unreached and sends missionaries with conviction, prayer, and purpose.

Main Point

Isaiah's commissioning did not begin with a map or a strategy — it began with a vision of God on His throne. When you see God as He truly is, you cannot help but respond to the need around you. The church's role in missions is not passive. We are not spectators watching brave individuals leave. We are a sending community — praying, giving, supporting, and going. Everyone in this room is either a goer, a sender, or disobedient.

Application Ideas

Commission the missionaries with prayer and laying on of hands. Challenge every member to commit to praying daily for the missionaries being sent. Present practical ways the congregation can participate — financial support, short-term trips, correspondence, and advocacy. Ask everyone to consider: is God calling me to go?

Discussion Questions

Why did Isaiah's call to missions begin with a vision of God rather than a vision of need? What does Paul mean when he asks 'How can they hear without someone preaching to them'? What is the difference between a goer and a sender, and why are both essential? How can our church become more of a sending church?

Detailed Sermon Outline

Primary Text: Isaiah 6:1-8

Supporting Texts: Romans 10:13-15; Matthew 9:35-38; Acts 13:1-3

Big Idea: The call to missions begins with a vision of God's holiness, is fueled by the reality of human lostness, and is sustained by the prayers of a sending church.

Target Length: 25-30 minutes

Introduction

Isaiah's call to missions did not begin with a map. It did not begin with a strategy meeting or a fundraising campaign. It began with a vision of God — high and lifted up, His train filling the temple, seraphim crying 'Holy, holy, holy.' And it was in that moment, face to face with the holiness of God, that Isaiah said the words that have echoed through millennia: 'Here am I. Send me.'

Read Isaiah 6:1-8. Notice the order: vision of God (v. 1-4), conviction of sin (v. 5), cleansing and forgiveness (v. 6-7), and then — only then — the commissioning call (v. 8). You cannot sustain missions work on guilt or obligation. It must flow from an encounter with the living God.

Preaching note: Missions commissioning services should be both celebratory and sobering. We are sending people into hard places. Honor the sacrifice while celebrating the obedience.

I. The Need Is Urgent (Matthew 9:35-38; Romans 10:13-15)

Jesus looked at the crowds and was moved with compassion because 'they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.' Then He said something that should haunt every comfortable church: 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'

There are approximately 3.2 billion people who have never heard the name of Jesus — not rejected Him, but never heard of Him.
Romans 10:14 lays out the logic: 'How can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?'
The need is not abstract. It is people — real people, with real names, in real places — who are living and dying without the hope of the gospel.

Missions is not one of many optional ministries of the church. It is the heartbeat of the church. A church that is not sending is a church that has forgotten its reason for existing.

II. The Call Is Personal (Isaiah 6:8; Acts 13:1-3)

God did not say 'Someone needs to go.' He said, 'Whom shall I send?' It is a personal question that demands a personal answer.

In Acts 13, the church at Antioch was worshipping and fasting when the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' The call came during worship, was confirmed by the community, and was accompanied by prayer and fasting.
Not everyone is called to cross an ocean. But everyone is called to be part of the mission. You are either a goer, a sender, or a pray-er. 'None of the above' is not an option.
To the missionaries being commissioned today: you are not going alone. You carry the prayers, the support, and the partnership of this entire congregation.

The question is not 'Is God calling someone?' The question is 'Is God calling me?' And if He is, the only right response is Isaiah's: 'Here am I. Send me.'

III. The Church Must Send (Acts 13:2-3; Philippians 4:15-19)

The church at Antioch did not just release Barnabas and Saul — they commissioned them. They fasted, prayed, laid hands on them, and sent them off. Sending is not passive. It is an active, sacrificial, ongoing commitment.

Financial support: Paul praised the Philippians because they were the only church that 'shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving.' Missionaries cannot go if churches do not give.
Prayer support: the most powerful thing you can do for a missionary is pray. Pray by name. Pray specifically. Pray persistently.
Emotional support: missions is lonely. Letters, emails, care packages, visits — these are lifelines, not luxuries.

A sending church does not outsource missions to a denomination or an agency. A sending church takes personal ownership: these are our missionaries, this is our mission, and we will not let them go unsupported.

Appeal

Today we commission missionaries with our blessing, our prayers, and our commitment to stand with them. But this moment is also an invitation to every person in this room.

Some of you are being called to go — maybe not today, maybe not overseas, but somewhere. Do not ignore that stirring. Some of you are being called to send — with your finances, your time, your advocacy. That is not a lesser calling; it is an essential one. And all of us are called to pray — to wage spiritual warfare on behalf of those who are on the front lines.

Let us lay hands on those being sent today and commit — as a church family — to the mission that God has given us: to make His name known among every nation, tribe, and tongue.

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