My take: In face of Uganda blasts, mission spirit endures

ICC Note

Missionaries from the United States were among the victims of Islamic bombing in Uganda . Thomas Kemper says that risk of facing violence doesn’t deter missionaries from taking the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.

By Thomas Kemper

07/12/2010 Uganda (CNN.com)-The thoughts and prayers of the United Methodist mission community are with all those injured and the families of the persons killed in the bombing in Kampala , Uganda on July 11. We join our hearts to the injured mission volunteers from Selinsgrove , Pennsylvania , several from Christ Community Church , a United Methodist congregation.

We are thankful that no one was injured in another volunteer mission group from Alabama in Uganda at the same time.

Short-term, voluntary service has become a common and compelling experience in Christian mission today. Groups such as the one from Selinsgrove working in Uganda go to many places, especially in summer, to join with local churches in building, educational, medical, and evangelism projects.

Mission service also involves risks. The Apostle Paul, the first great missionary of the Christian movement, once gave a rundown of the trials and tribulations he had encountered in service to his faith: shipwreck, beating, stoning, imprisonment, banditry, dangers in cities and the country, and hunger (II Corinthians 11:23-28).

Random and terrorist violence, such as in Uganda , is a threat. Military conflict or social upheaval sometimes requires the temporary withdrawal or relocation of missionaries, as in recent decades was the case in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia , and some parts of Asia . In recent years, we found it advisable to concentrate our personnel in Kenya in a safe location during widespread civil unrest.

Missionaries and mission volunteers will keep going to every part of the world in spite of risks and threats. They know that whatever happens, God is with them, and this awareness defines the mission spirit.