The Need for Missions

Why does the church send missionaries? Why cross cultures, invest resources, and take risks to bring the gospel to people we may never meet?

In Romans 10:13–17, the Apostle Paul gives a clear and sobering answer: because people cannot be saved unless they hear the gospel, and they cannot hear unless someone is sent to tell them. Missions is not driven by sentiment or strategy alone—it is driven by the unavoidable logic of salvation itself.

Paul’s argument unfolds in a simple but weighty progression, showing us both why the gospel is necessary and how God has chosen to make it known in the world.

The Gospel Is Necessary for Salvation

Paul begins with a glorious promise: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But that promise only makes sense once we understand what salvation means—and why we need it.

Scripture teaches that every person stands guilty before a holy God. Rather than giving God the worship He deserves, humanity has exchanged His glory for created things. The result is divine wrath and eternal separation from God. This is the reality the Bible calls hell, and it is what all people deserve apart from grace.

The good news of the gospel is that God rescues sinners from the judgment they deserve. Salvation is not earned through moral effort or religious performance—it is received as a gift. Those who call on the name of the Lord in faith, trusting in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, are saved.

But this raises a crucial question: how can anyone call on Christ if they do not believe in Him?

The Gospel Is Our Responsibility to Proclaim

Paul presses the logic further: “How are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?” Faith requires hearing, and hearing requires proclamation. No one can trust a Savior they have never encountered.

This reality places a serious responsibility on God’s people. The word “preaching” in Romans 10 does not refer only to sermons delivered from pulpits. It refers broadly to announcing or proclaiming good news. If the gospel is not spoken, it cannot be believed.

This responsibility begins close to home. Parents are called to teach their children the gospel clearly. Believers are called to speak openly with friends, neighbors, and coworkers—not merely about morality or church attendance, but about sin, grace, repentance, and faith in Christ.

But the responsibility does not stop locally. Paul’s logic extends outward to those who have no access to the gospel at all. There are billions of people in the world who may live and die without ever hearing the name of Jesus. They are not merely unsaved—they are unreached.

Unreached peoples are those among whom Christ is largely unknown and where the church is insufficient to make Him known without outside help. If the gospel is going to reach them, someone must cross cultural, linguistic, or geographic barriers to tell them. And for that to happen, the church must send.

God’s Sovereignty Gives Confidence for Missions

Paul acknowledges a reality that might otherwise discourage us: not everyone who hears the gospel will believe it. This, too, was foretold in Scripture. Yet unbelief does not nullify the mission—it confirms God’s Word.

Faith comes through hearing the word of Christ. When the gospel is proclaimed, two things happen: some believe, and some do not. We are not responsible for the outcome; we are responsible for obedience.

God’s sovereignty does not undermine missions—it makes missions possible. Because God knows who will respond, the church can proclaim the gospel with confidence, perseverance, and hope. We do not go because we know who will believe. We go because God does.

The story of William Carey illustrates this truth. Carey believed deeply in God’s sovereignty, and that belief did not lead him to passivity. It propelled him to action. Through years of suffering and slow fruit, Carey labored faithfully, trusting that God would save through the preached Word.

Yet Carey is not the ultimate example. Jesus is.

Salvation comes through hearing the word of Christ—the announcement that the Son of God took on flesh, lived a sinless life, died in the place of sinners, and rose again in victory. That message is the power of God for salvation, and it is what the church is called to proclaim.

A Call to Pray, Send, and Go

Romans 10 confronts the church with a simple conclusion: if salvation requires hearing, and hearing requires proclamation, then the church must take responsibility for ensuring the gospel goes forth.

Not everyone will go to the nations, but everyone must be involved. Some go. Others send. All pray. To disengage from missions is not neutrality—it is disobedience.

The need for missions remains because the need for the gospel remains. Until every tribe, language, people, and nation hears the name of Jesus, the church must continue to pray, send, and go—confident that God will save sinners through the word of Christ.