(from the February 2003 issue)

In college, before my husband and I were married, we both felt a call to go out and do great things for Jesus Christ. It was student mission emphasis week at Andrews University, and the entire week I felt a strong call from the Holy Spirit burning inside of me to go somewhere and do something. I didn’t know where to go or how to get there, I just felt a clear tugging on my heart to go. So I listened and made a promise to God that I would go wherever it was that He needed me to go. At the end of that week, I told my husband (boyfriend at the time) what I was feeling and discovered that he felt the same call. So we decided to go.

We were married that next summer, and, the day after the wedding, flew off to do student missionary work for a year in Taiwan. It was the best year of our lives—not exactly easy, but extremely rewarding. Not only did the experience bring us closer to each other, it drew us much closer to God. Spiritually, it was the most exciting and fulfilling year of our lives.

Admittedly, not every couple is called to the mission field, to pastor a church, or to one of the many other career fields that pop into mind when you think of “mission.” But a strong Christian marriage will have a mission mindset in whatever career field the two have been called to. This mission mindset is developed by staying so connected to Jesus that His love spills over into every relationship, every activity, and every context in which you find yourself. It means that you, as a couple, will saturate the community you’ve been called to with the love of God—reaching the unchurched, loving the unloved, and giving hope to the hopeless. It means that, as a couple, you will build relationships with the people of the world and invite them into your home. I believe that this mindset will make a huge difference for Christ in our world, and will also make a huge difference in our marriage relationships.

In preparing for marriage, prepare for mission. A thriving, strong, durable Christian marriage will be passionately mission-minded. If you’re a Christian and you’ve accepted the call to follow Christ for the rest of your life, make sure you choose a partner who has the same desire to follow Him as well. It’s vital that the person you choose shares the same commitment, goals, and aspirations that you have, and that each of those goals and aspirations is wrapped up in a love for Christ.

Just as Aquila and Priscilla of the New Testament worked together as partners and opened up their home in service to God, let us do the same. Their marriage was mission-minded, and, because of that, many gentiles were saved. Being co-workers with Paul, they were powerfully used by God because they fully dedicated themselves to service for the Lord. They had careers as tent-makers, and I’m sure that they had many of the same kinds of responsibilities that we have today—providing food for their family, paying rent for their dwellings, etc. Because they had a passion for reaching out to others, they made mission a priority in their lives and in their marriage.

God needs many Aquila’s and Priscilla’s in the world today. He needs husbands and wives who will not only commit themselves to each other, but commit themselves to loving and reaching out to the lost people of the world.