by Rob Bashioum
Our God is a pursuing God. This aspect of His character is clear from the very first pages of Scripture to the very last—His love reaches, expands, and chases us down. You can see it in one of the most familiar passages in the Bible, which says, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16–17, NLT). This gift is for everyone, the entire world, everyone who will believe.
Paul echoes this idea in Romans when he writes, “‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, ‘How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!’” (Rom. 10:13–15, NLT). This good news, that the gift of salvation is available for everyone, becomes a challenge as Paul points out that the only way for people to call on the name of God is if they have heard His name. This message is for the whole world, and the Church—as God’s people—has the responsibility to go and tell everyone about Him. This is why we continue to send people to all the world with the good news of Jesus.
It’s important to recognize that the landscape of Christianity looks very different today than it did in Jesus’ day or Paul’s day. The gospel initially took root there in the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia Minor—this is where Christianity was born in those first centuries. It began to move west into Europe, and over time, that became the new center of Christianity. The gospel expanded into Canada and the United States, and perhaps for a time this was the center of the faith.
Today, we celebrate that the center of Christianity has moved down to the global South, where God is at work in profound ways throughout Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. The Church is vibrant. It is growing. And wherever the Church embraces its missional identity, the gospel continues to spread to more people and to new places. Why? Because our God is a pursuing God. His reach is far and wide, and we are invited to bring the message of the truth of Jesus to everyone, everywhere.
He Had to Go Through Samaria
There’s a story from Jesus’ life that gives us a profound lesson on His pursuing nature. It says: “So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. He had to go through Samaria on the way. Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph” (John 4:3–5, NLT). Jesus had to go through Samaria, the Gospel writer says. Well, let me tell you—Jesus didn’t have to go through Samaria.
If you look at a map of the region, you will see that the shortest route from Judea to Galilee is through Samaria. But religious Jews in Jesus’ day would never take that shorter route. Instead, they traveled an extra 23 miles around the region to keep their distance from Samaritans, who were considered apostate and unclean. There were deep levels of ethnic and religious hatred between the Jews and Samaritans. Yet Jesus had to go through Samaria—not because of logistics but because the Father asked Jesus to go, and therefore in obedience, He went through Samaria.
While there, Jesus didn’t just pass through on the interstate. He got off at the exit and talked to the locals. And His first contact wasn’t just any local—it was a Samaritan woman, an outsider in her own community. Jesus broke down multiple barriers, all while He was just passing through.
In this story, Jesus models for the future Church the importance, the calling, to leave our localized comfort zones. The most comfortable thing for most people is to stay within our familiar places among familiar people. But the Kingdom of God advances when we find the courage to step out and over. Jesus models this for us, dismantling divides and bringing living water to those outside His own community.
Just before He ascended to heaven, Jesus commissioned us, His Church, to go and do the same. He says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NLT).
For the disciples, Jerusalem made sense—it was the center of the Jewish community. Judea made sense; this is where Jesus was born, where many of his friends and family were from. But Samaria? The ends of the earth? This commission was shocking to the followers of Jesus when it was first given. Yet Jesus demonstrated this type of life. And as His followers, we are still called to all the world, everywhere. Even to the places we don’t expect, to the people that we don’t really care to be around, to those who are far away and difficult to reach. Anywhere there are humans created in the image of God, we are called to go, to send, to pray.
Sent to the Ends of the Earth
As The Alliance, we are a global Acts 1:8 family. When our movement began in New York City in the late 1800s, it was because God called someone beyond a barrier of comfort to care for immigrants. From the earliest days, the work expanded from the neighborhoods to the nations as Alliance people gathered to send workers to the ends of the earth. Within just the first few years, over 180 people were sent to 12 countries. By the turn of the century, Congo, Palestine, the Philippines, Japan, and China were among the first countries those early missionaries were sent to. And as the years went on, people found Jesus and churches began to sprout. The result is the global Alliance World Fellowship, which is present in 88 countries with 6.7 million believers worshiping Jesus in over 24,000 churches. Each nation is an independent church with local leadership, but together we all embrace our missional identity, sending more than 1,700 international workers from 29 national churches.
Our church, Salem Alliance Church in Salem, Oregon, has the privilege of supporting dozens of U.S. Alliance international workers. Let me tell you about what God is doing around the world in five distant locations where we partner.
First, go with me to Manchester, England, where one in three people were not born in the United Kingdom. The nations have come to Manchester! We partner with Envision workers who are running a coffee shop and community center called The Giving Tree. An international church also meets in their building, which was once an old pub. The baristas at The Giving Tree are trained by a woman sent by churches in Hong Kong, and a Chinese Alliance Church just around the corner provides prayer and volunteer support. This community center is in the middle of a diverse neighborhood with a high concentration of Pakistani and Arab residents, and right across the street is a major university. It is a true picture of all nations reaching all nations.
Next is Kosovo, where there are two community centers run by Alliance workers we trained and sent. One couple we support is in the middle of language study and ministers at one of the centers. The other couple ministers at the CrossFit center, a class-based fitness facility that provides community development and holistic health. They are building relationships that can carry the weight of the gospel. These workers are looking forward to a coffee shop attached to their CrossFit facility that is about to open and a church plant that is about to launch.
In Indonesia, we partner with CAMA Services workers who focus on relief and development. In the aftermath of flooding in the region, Alliance workers responded with disaster relief because the gospel is more than a declaration, it is also a demonstration. One CAMA team brought in the pumps and machinery to dig out the mud and debris from over 30 homes. These workers are also active with creation care initiatives to help ensure that severe flooding doesn’t become the new reality for people in this country.
In a region of West Africa at the crossroads of three countries, there are hundreds of local Alliance churches. But terrorism is on the rise, and food insecurity and economic hardships are worsening. Millions of people have been displaced, and many of them are Christians struggling to survive. Aid organizations connected to the national Alliance churches are on the ground, empowering local churches to provide prayer and food to those who have been displaced. Please pray with us for God to be at work in this region.
Finally, travel with me to the Middle East. In a city where there was little-to-no witness of Jesus only 20 years ago, God is at work. There is a vibrant underground church that has formed, and people are finding Jesus in powerful ways, including through dreams and visions. These believers are experiencing freedom in the Holy Spirit in profound ways, and they are being persecuted for it—beaten, imprisoned, constantly threatened, and blacklisted so they can’t find jobs. But hardship is only increasing the growth of this movement. Over 110 people have been baptized in this little city in the last two years.
Joining the Pursuing God
All of Jesus for All the World isn’t a slogan. It’s our calling—and it takes all of us. We are called to step out of our personal comfort zones, to share God’s love and truth with all we meet.
The Kingdom of God is advancing, both globally and in our own cities. The missional work of the Church in all the world is not just in the far corners of the world; it is also right outside your door. As an Alliance family, may we continue to pray faithfully for our international workers serving in difficult places. May we continue giving sacrificially and consistently to the Great Commission Fund and to specific workers and projects we feel called to support. May we continue to be open to God’s call wherever He would lead us. And may we be willing to step outside our comfort zones in our neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, and communities.
The same Holy Spirit who empowered the Early Church empowers us today. The same God who pursued the Samaritan woman is still pursuing the hearts of people in every corner of the world. And He is inviting us to join Him outside our comfort zones. Just as God’s great love for the world compelled Him to send His Son to seek and save those who are lost, so, too, is He sending us.
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