Toronto Mission Trip Reflection: Spying out the Land
“This to me was another reflection of the spiritual state of the city, and another sign of the need for a Bible-believing church in the city of Toronto”
In Numbers 13, after the nation of Israel had spent over 40 years wandering in the wilderness, they were finally on the cusp of entering into and possessing the promised land. At the very beginning of the chapter, the Lord commands Moses to send a group of men, one from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, to go into the land of Canaan to “search the land.” This was the very land that God had promised for his people Israel, and they were finally almost ready to go and possess the land as their own. Although the Lord knew exactly what this land was like, and what it would take for his people to possess it, he commanded his people to first go and see it for themselves. There were a few things they were commanded to look for as they “searched” out the land. What is the land like physically? What cities are within it? Is it a physically prosperous place? What are the people there like? Strong, weak? Few, many?
In late spring of this year, I had the opportunity to go on a “discovery trip” to Toronto, Canada with a group from MBT. Leading up to the trip, our leaders Mitch Dobson and Josh O’Hora chose to use the guidelines outlined in Numbers 13 as a point of reference for us in exploring the city as a mission field. For us, “searching out the land” looked like going out into the city and exploring college campuses, parks, and malls. We got to explore the physical aspects of the city by walking through it on foot, taking the subway to different parts of the city. Through this, we were able to see the typical everyday existence of the hustling and bustling city of diverse peoples, languages, and cultures that is Toronto. One of the first things a few of us noticed upon our arrival was the number of different languages we heard spoken all around us. We had fun trying to guess each language we heard, but quickly realized there were too many to identify, let alone count. The entire world, it seems, is in Toronto. In terms of physical prosperity, this city is full of it: innovation, modern ideas, and worldly success.
As we went into different parts of the city, we engaged in numerous conversations along the way, and were able to see “the people that dwelleth therein.” We met students from all over the world while we explored the University of Toronto and met a variety of local Torontonians in the parks and malls we went to. Many of us were struck by the friendliness that we encountered with the people that we met. When we shared with people why we were visiting Toronto, and our consideration and prayer of potentially starting a church in the city, many times we were even met by encouragement and helpful pointers about other churches in the city and what the city is like. One thing was almost universally acknowledged among our team: we very rarely met any sort of genuine opposition from people who we engaged in conversation with. Interestingly, however, we found very few people who were actually interested in considering spiritual things for themselves personally. More often than not, we were met with the attitude, “that’s great for you, but not for me” when it came to the discussion of spiritual and eternal matters.
Despite the general presence of spiritual apathy and indifference we encountered during our time there, we met a few people who showed a genuine interest in spiritual things, exchanging contact information and expressing interest in meeting up again. There were even a couple individuals we met, one in a park and the other on a subway, who decided to join us for Bible studies the very same evening. Although we did not meet many born-again believers, I noticed that the few we did meet seemed desperate for true fellowship and growth in the Lord, and have not been able to find a good community of believers in Toronto to encourage them in their walks with Christ and growth in his Word. This to me was another reflection of the spiritual state of the city, and another sign of the need for a Bible-believing church in the city of Toronto.
Can we really reach this city?
As I stood at the top of the CN Tower looking over the Greater Toronto Area during our last full day there, I was overwhelmed by the scope of the city I saw, with over 6 million people residing within. A few of us hypothesized ideal locations within the city for a future church plant, if the Lord leads MBT in that direction. As we discussed where a church plant of ours might be, I couldn’t help but wonder, can we really reach this city? Thinking back over the conversations we had earlier in the week, and considering the number of people still left to reach, I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the need, and also the seeming impossibility to reach Toronto for Christ. In human terms, the task is indeed impossible. Referring back to the reference points given to the spies in Numbers 13:18, the people are a great many, and they are spiritually weak and destitute.
As I processed through these things, and prayed over the city, two places in scripture came to mind. The first, a story in 2 Kings 6, where the king of Syria sends a host of horses and chariots to surround Elisha and his servant in the middle of the night. The servant, upon seeing the host surrounding them, promptly cries out in despair, “Alas, my master! How shall we do?” to which Elisha responds: “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” At first, the servant doesn’t understand, but when the Lord opens the servant’s eyes, he sees that the mountain is full of horses and chariots of fire about them, ready to help and defend. The second verse I thought of was Matthew 19:26 where Jesus told his disciples, “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
Looking out over the city of Toronto, I initially felt like Elisha’s servant, as I asked the Lord, “Alas, my master! How shall we do?” I recognized the scope of the need to reach this city, and I also recognized that with our own ability and wisdom, it will be impossible to do it. As I prayed, I knew the only way we could reach such a place would be to believe, as Elisha did, that “they that be with us are more than they that be with them,” And to know that with God all things, including the seemingly impossible, are indeed possible.
What can God do in 10 years?
Each morning during our trip we set aside some time to study through the book of Philippians together. At the very beginning of this study, we spent time looking at Paul’s first visit to Philippi in Acts 16, where he met Lydia and her household (v. 11-15), who were all saved and became the very beginnings of the ministry in Philippi, along with the Philippian jailor who is saved later in the same chapter. There are a few specific things that are noted of Lydia and her openness to spiritual things, which became our prayer list for people we were trusting God to meet in Toronto while we were there.
Through our study in the book of Philippians, I found myself considering how much God did in Philippi over the course of 10 years. In Acts 16 we see Lydia and her household, and the Philippian jailor all saved, but then fast forward to Paul’s letter to the church ten years later, and we see several more names mentioned of people who were added to the church in the course of 10 years: Epaphroditus, Euodias, Syntyche, Clement, and several other groups of unnamed individuals. From small beginnings in Acts 16, came an entire church that was continuing to grow 10 years later, and spread the gospel to those who needed its saving power. It made me wonder, what could God do in Toronto in 10 years, from these small beginnings we have seen this week?
Back in Numbers 13, when the spies finally came back from spying out the land, the report of the majority of them was that of fear, saying: “We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we,” in spite of the promise that the Lord gave in verse 2, saying that he would give the land to his people. Similar to the response of Elisha’s servant in 2 Kings 6, these people forgot the great power and might of the God they served.
The only two individuals who took heed to the command in verse 20 to “be ye of good courage” were Caleb and Joshua, who wholeheartedly believed and encouraged the people that the Lord would give them the land as he promised. Numbers 13:30 states that Caleb “stilled the people” before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.” Later, in Numbers 14, Joshua and Caleb encourage the people further, “If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us…”
As of now, we do not yet know if the Lord intends to bring MBT “into this land” of Toronto to start a church there. But we do know this: there is an open door in this city for the Gospel, and there are a great number of people there who need it. However, this work is not for the faint in heart. Be it Toronto, Nairobi, Dallas, Tokyo, or Ho Chi Minh City — there will always be a temptation for God’s people to see what is in front of us and say, “We be not able to go up,” when we see the magnitude of the Great Commission, and what it demands of our lives. Our faith proposition must be, the moment the Lord calls us anywhere, as Caleb said, “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it,” and as Elisha said, “They that be with us are more than they that be with them.”
Lydia Powers is a member of MBT and a part of C&YA. She is a TA in LFBI and leads a women’s UMKC Bible study.
