When John G. Paton announced his mission to a South Pacific island known for cannibalism, a concerned elder warned him, “You will be eaten!” Paton famously replied that it mattered little whether he was consumed by cannibals or by worms, so long as he served the Lord. Despite facing the tragic loss of his family and constant threats to his life, Paton’s persistence eventually transformed the islands. His story serves as a piercing rebuke to the "procrastination of good intentions," reminding us that the greatest obstacle to the Great Commission isn't a lack of heart, but the dangerous assumption that there will always be more time to go.

For years, a missionary was blocked from entering a remote village by government restrictions and hostility. When the door finally opened and he shared the gospel, an elderly man asked through tears, “Why did you wait so long? We have believed these things for years; we just didn’t know the name of the God who loved us.” This haunting question reminds us that missions is not merely about opportunity, but urgency. The world’s need is certain; the only question is whether God’s people will respond in time.

One of the dangers of being in church for a long time is that we can become very familiar with spiritual language without being personally affected by it. Words like missions, evangelism, the Great Commission, and the nations can slowly become part of our vocabulary rather than a call to action. We talk about missions, we support missions, and we pray for missionaries—but sometimes we forget that missions is not simply something the church does somewhere else, but something God calls His people to be involved in personally. This month, as the church focuses on missions, the desire is not just to learn more about missions, but to pray more intentionally, give more faithfully, and respond more obediently to what God is doing in the world.

Preaching from the book of Daniel, missionary to Italy, David Story, warns of the dangers of bowing down to Apathy, Compromise, and our fiery Trials.