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Interview with Thomas E. Trask

Part of the three-fold priority reason-for-being of the Assemblies of God as stated in the Fellowship's Constitution and Bylaws "is to be an agency of God for evangelizing the world." That the Assemblies of God exists expressly to give continued emphasis to world evangelization is evident throughout its 83-year history. In its first year as a sending agency (1919), the Assemblies of God commissioned 195 missionaries representing 27 countries. Today, the missions landscape of the Fellowship has grown to 1,775 missionaries serving in 148 countries. The Spirit of Pentecost has been the vital link to the success of Pentecostal missions around the world. The dynamic for world evangelism came on the Day of Pentecost and continues to this day.

In his quarterly interview, Superintendent Thomas E. Trask takes up the subject of the Holy Spirit and missions.

WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MISSIONS AND PENTECOST?

You can be missions minded without being Pentecostal, and many worldwide evangelical organizations are making a significant missions impact. But you cannot be Pentecostal without being missions minded. Missions is the result of Pentecost. That's why Pentecost was given--so the Church would become a missions-driven body. Yet, a significant number of churches are Pentecostal in doctrine and practice but are not missions minded. They have missed the purpose for why God gave the infilling of the Holy Spirit to the Church.

There are those who are not missions minded, and then there are those--an army of men and women--who have offered themselves for the cause of missions. The Assemblies of God has high regard for individuals who have answered the call of God to foreign or home missions service. Many of these people could have wonderful ministries or successful business careers. Instead, they have forsaken other careers to fulfill the call of God upon their lives. This is commendable--a marvelous testimony. We dare not forget our great missionary family.

WHAT IS YOUR CHALLENGE TO ASSEMBLIES OF GOD CHURCHES CONCERNING MISSIONS?

First, I want to say, "Thank-you missionary family for your sacrifice, your contribution, and your dedication, both to the Great Commission and to the Assemblies of God. You are making a difference in our world."

Then, I want to challenge churches who are not part of the missions program--those doing very little for missions. Every Assemblies of God church ought to have a missions convention. Every Assemblies of God church ought to be supporting personnel for the cause of missions. Every Assemblies of God church ought to be obedient to the Great Commission by having missions projects. Missions is not something the Assemblies of God has come up with. The Great Commission is a directive given to us by Jesus. When we participate in missions, we are living in obedience to His command and to His Word. This is critical because if we fail to obey, we can't expect His blessing. But if we obey, we can expect His blessing, His approval, and His grace to rest upon all that we do.

You cannot have a harvest without a planting. And the missions arm of the Church is the planting arm God has given to us. God will see to it there is a harvest. We don't have to worry about that. We can't make the harvest happen. But we have the responsibility of making the planting happen and the joy of participating in the harvest for the Church.

THE ASSEMBLIES OF GOD HAD OVER 500,000 REPORTED CONVERSIONS IN 1996. WHAT DOES THIS SAY TO US?

Actually, it's over 508,000. These statistics tell us that whenever the Church is in the middle of revival and renewal, people's passion and compassion intensify. With spiritual vitality we are more aware of needs and the heart of God. Our ears are sensitive to His voice. Our hearts beat with His heart. This is not just programming. Our response grows out of a desire to win the lost. It grows out of relationship with Christ--individual relationship and the body of Christ's corporate relationship with Him. As we see the intensity of the Spirit moving, it is for the purpose of reaching the lost through missions at home and abroad. And this will result again in harvest.

WHAT IS THE CHALLENGE FOR US FROM SUCH A HARVEST?

The challenge for the Church is to preserve the harvest. We must have discipleship programs in place, so we can serve and keep the new converts we are reaching. In response to this challenge, missionary giving from our churches in 1996 was an all-time high and continues to escalate.*

The Lord of the harvest is saying to the Church again, "Work...[for] the night cometh, when no man can work. Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest" (John 9:4; 4:35).

WHAT IS THE CHURCH'S RESPONSE TO THE TASK OF THE GREAT COMMISSION?

The Spirit is energizing the Church to accomplish the task, and the Church is responding to the Spirit. We are living in great days of opportunity. God has given us tools for the gospel's sake that we never had in our early missions endeavors--the Internet, international air travel, and satellite communications, to name a few.

The Church is rising to the opportunities and to the challenge. We now have more people offering themselves for full-time missions work, and more doors have opened to us than any time in the 83-year history of the Assemblies of God. It's a wonderful day--a challenging day for the church of Jesus Christ.

*Foreign missions giving for 1996 totaled $117,942,262. World missions giving was $235,416,240 for 1996.