Missions Sunday Message 2026 by Moran Mor Dr. Samuel Theophilus Metropolitan

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen +

Every year we set apart one Sunday as Missions Sunday.

The word mission comes from the Latin missio — it simply means to be sent. When we speak of Missions Sunday, we are asking ourselves: sent where? Sent to do what? And sent by whom?

The answers to those questions are at the heart of everything we do as a Church. And always remember, Church is within the wider community, a part of our society.

We celebrate this day because we believe the Church does not exist for itself. It exists for the entire planet Earth. Jesus himself told us: “No one lights a lamp and hides it under a bowl — instead they put it on its stand, so it gives light to everyone in the house.” [Matthew 5:15] Missions Sunday is our annual reminder that we are that lamp, and there is much of the room which needs to be lit up.

What did Jesus say? He gave us what we call the Great Commission — or the Mandate, from the Latin mandatum, meaning ‘something commanded, an order given.’ And His command was this: ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.'”* [Matthew 28:19–20]And what did He teach? The most famous thing He taught was the Golden Rule — “Do unto others what you would have them do to you.” [Matthew 7:12] He taught people to forgive, to be reconciled and to live at peace with each other. He showed us to embrace those whom society had marginalised.

His healings were not simply physical — they were acts of restoration. When He healed the ten lepers [Luke 17:11–19] or gave sight to the man born blind, [John 9:1–7] He was restoring people not just to health, but back to their families, back to their communities, back to their human values and dignity. That was His mission. And that is what He has entrusted to us also. It is the same message and mission (acts) the disciples and the Apostles carried forward — and what we commemorate every year during the two weeks of Apostles Lent in the month of June.

So mission is not just a word. It is a way of life. And today I want to share with you what that looks like in practice – in the daily life we live.
Last month, I visited a community in a West African country — a community which lives in the capital city, and yet has been in dire need of basic amnesties. They live in an area no one else wants, because it is the only place they have to “call their own”. It is a dirty, waterlogged swamp. If I had not seen it with my own eyes, I would not have believed it.

More than a year ago, one of our priests, along with his family and three young brothers, went there to live and work among these people. At first it was very difficult. Because of the swamps, the people had tiny, flimsy pieces of wood laid down as bridges. There were so many stories — people falling off those bridges and hurting themselves; children wading through filthy water to get to school; and heartbreaking stories of small children accidentally falling into those waters and dying.

But these brothers were on a mission. They were there to embrace that community, to restore their dignity, and to help them liberate and help themselves. They encouraged the people. They sent the children to school. They taught the mothers skills to earn a living. And little by little, the community came together.

I went there last month to lay the foundation of what we are calling the Bridge of Hope project — where we have procured larger, solid pieces of wood, and the community itself has come together to build proper bridges. That is mission. That is what restoration looks like.
Our reposed Metropolitan used to say to us priests: you are the shepherd not only of those within your church walls, but of the whole community around you. One of our priests took this deeply to heart — and look at what happened.

In the community where he serves, there was a poor woman living in a small shack with her two daughters and her elderly father. Her husband was far away, doing whatever work he could find, sending very little money home. This priest saw the family’s situation, quietly gathered contributions from kind-hearted people, and bought her a tailoring machine. She trained as a tailor. Within months, everything changed. People in the neighbourhood began to notice how beautifully she sewed. She now stitches school uniforms. Her children have good clothes and new books to take to school. Her dignity has been restored. And she is so talented that in her spare time she sews pictures — she sent one to me through one of our Bishops, and I was genuinely amazed.

You see, this is our mission. Restoration.

Even in the Old Testament, God told His people: do not overwork and abuse the land — let it rest and recover. [Leviticus 25:2–5] Do not take advantage of those who have no one to defend them. [Exodus 22:22–23] [Deuteronomy 10:18] Be especially kind to the widows and the orphans. And as the Apostle James puts it so plainly: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction.” [James 1:27]

That same spirit is why, with the contributions of so many generous hearts, we have been able to build homes for widows. We would like to do much more — and we trust that God will provide the resources for that too.

Brothers and sisters, mission is not something that happens far away, in another country, in another language. Mission begins the moment you see a need and decide not to look away. It begins when you treat the dignity of another person as something worth protecting. It begins when we remember that every person — no matter how forgotten by the world — is seen and beloved by God.
Ending salutations:

Scripture references

• Matthew 5:15 • Matthew 7:12 • Matthew 28:19–20 • Luke 17:11–19 • John 9:1–7 • Leviticus 25:2–5 • Exodus 22:22–23 • Deuteronomy 10:18 • James 1:27