The Bible teaches that there is a commanding call to evangelism that originates from above (read The Call from Above), a distressing call that originates from below (read The Call from Below), and an urgent call that originates from without (read The Call from Without).
There is a fourth call to evangelism — the call that comes from within. If we fail to hear and heed this call, all of the other calls will also go unanswered. This is the call that ultimately stirs us to action. Isaiah heard this call in the year of King Uzziah’s death when he heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (Isaiah 6:8).
Centuries after Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord, another young man heard God’s voice. It was the 18th century, a period when churches had become indifferent to the spiritual needs of the world. During this time there lived a young English pastor who served as a part-time teacher and shoemaker. This young man was under the conviction that the Great Commission was directed to every believer and still operative. Many of his contemporaries felt otherwise.
At a ministers’ meeting in 1786, this young man asked “whether the command given to teach all nations was not obligatory on all [believers], to the end of the world.” Upon hearing this, an older pastor named Ryland is reported to have said, “Sit down, young man. You are a miserable enthusiast to ask such a question. When God wants to convert the world, He can do it without your help.”
But, this young man dared to swim against the tide of apathy in his day because he had heard the voice of the Lord reverberating in his heart, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Like Isaiah, this young man dared to heed this divine call from within and answered affirmatively, “Here am I. Send me!” As a result, this young man named William Carey unwittingly launched the modern missionary movement in 1792 and became known as the father of modern missions.
Can you hear God’s voice reverberating within the chambers of your heart, asking “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” If not, turn down the volume, tune in to God, and make yourself available to beg others on behalf of Christ, “be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20).
Go Beyond 
Like Isaiah and William Cary, the congregation that I pastor has experienced transformimg revival. Like Isaiah, we discovered that “God was high and lifted up and we were a people of unclean lips and we lived among a people of unclean lips”.
After the LORD revived us, many of our members began to hear the conversation of the Trinity say “who shall I send and who shall go”. Many heard this for the first time. Since then we are now training every believer, new and old, to become missionaries to their world. Every believer is a missionary and every believer has been sent. Jesus said to His disciples many years ago, “As the Father has sent me I am also sending you.” He is still sending.
May the Lord of the Church revive His repentant people so that we can see a new missionary movement in our city.
Rickie B
By: Rickie Bradshaw on November 25, 2008
at 1:35 PM
Rickie…
Thank you for all you are doing to mobilize the congregation you pastor to penetrate our city with the light of the gospel. I read yesterday that every second, two people move from rural areas to cities. We must mobilize our people to make meaningful connections with the multitudes who live in and who are moving into cities like our own. Thanks also for your ministry to so many of the churches in Houston through your work at Union Baptist Association.
Blessings,
Omar~
By: Omar C. Garcia on November 25, 2008
at 2:30 PM