Perspective on the World Christian Movement

Perspectives: A Course of Vision, Hope and Passion

As the name implies, the Perspectives course is about vision. It’s the same vision which empowered Jesus to live His life with joy, hope, and single-hearted passion. This course explores that vision and will help you respond to Christ’s invitation to live for the same purpose and significance that He did.

There’s joy in this vision. Jesus told His first followers that the value of living fruitfully for His Father’s glory was “that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (John 15:11).

What was the vision? Jesus summed up the vision in one of His final prayers to His Father, “I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave me to do” (John 17:4). Jesus’ life purpose was to bring about
God’s glory on earth. Throughout His life, Jesus kept the vision of God’s greater glory before Him. He believed His Bible as it told the story and described the prophetic certainty that God would be delighted by worship from every people. The vision of God’s glory focused His life choices and filled His daily affairs with immense significance. Passion for God’s glory energized and integrated His life. Life with purpose was so satisfying that He said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work” (John 4:34). As He set His life toward the hope of finishing God’s work, His life became a daily feast of purpose. This course aims to help you live strategically toward that same hope.

“Missions” is a loaded word for most Christians. Many people are exposed to missions in the context of appeals for volunteers or funds. Missions has often been reduced to a limited question of whether you will be a missionary or not. Most Christians would admit that they don’t really know enough about what missions is to know what they would do or be if they were to aspire to be a missionary. Even less clear is how someone can live for God’s global purpose without being a missionary.

The point of this course is not to persuade you to become a missionary. Neither is it to train you in skills you need to serve as a missionary. The point of exposing you to many of the practicalities and challenges is to persuade you of the feasibility and to set you on a path of ongoing learning to play your part wisely and well.

The primary idea is that God will fulfill His purposes. The certainty that He will see it fulfilled makes His invitation to join Him in His mission a matter of heart-blazing hope. We are not called to perform dull religious duties. He is enlisting His followers to lead lives of huge significance.

We are convinced that God has a “world-sized” role for every Christian in His global purpose. Whether people go to distant countries or stay at home is a secondary issue. The primary issue is what most people are hungry to discover: vision to live a life of purpose. Discovering that vision makes this course valuable, and perhaps crucial, for any Christian.