Will YOU Go?

Why being more direct isn't a bad thing

I grew up in church. I can’t remember a time in my life when it wasn’t a priority—after all, my dad was the pastor. One could say I had a “drug problem”… I was drug to church on Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night every single week.

I speak three different languages: English, Chinese, and American Church. I am particularly fluent in American Church. Perhaps you’re reading this and didn’t realize it was a language—but I can assure you, if you don’t have years of experience in it and you find yourself in a circle where it’s being spoken, you’ll be as confused as I was during my first year in Taiwan. Yes, you know the words—but what do they mean?

Phrases like:

• “hedge of protection”

• “traveling mercies”

• “lay it on my heart”

• “called to missions”

And especially this one:

“Who will go?”

Now please understand—I am all for asking this question. It is a biblical question. In Isaiah’s vision of the Lord high and lifted up, the voice of God declared:

“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” (Isaiah 6:8, KJV)

It is a powerful and thought-provoking question.

But if I am honest, that wasn’t the question that troubled me the most.

After all, “Who will go?” can be answered with, “Someone else.” Nothing in the wording necessarily demands that I respond personally. It is a question that floats in the air, waiting for someone—anyone—to claim it.

But when you read the Gospels, Acts, Paul’s Epistles, the General Epistles, and even Revelation, the call becomes more direct. Jesus did not say, “Who might consider going?” He said:

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations…” (Matthew 28:19, KJV)

“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15, KJV)

“Ye shall be witnesses unto me… unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, KJV)

The language is not abstract. It is imperative.

Perhaps in our constant repetition of the phrase found in our unofficial “Webster’s Dictionary of American Church Language,” we have lost the directness necessary to elicit a response.

Maybe the question we need to hear is not merely:

“Who will go?”

But rather:

“Will YOU go?”

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I remember attending the one conference that absolutely changed the direction of my life. At the time, it was held every year right after Christmas and before New Year’s—a powerful way to begin the year by focusing on the heart of God.

A close friend of mine had recently surrendered to the mission field of India. Hearing about the need there—and around the world—stirred my heart in a way it had never been stirred before. For the first time, I began to realize that it was possible for me to be a missionary.

I went home with a new desire and a seed planted deep in my heart.

But don’t we all?

These moments are precious. Conferences, sermons, mission videos—they move us. They redirect us. But if you’re like me, inspiration alone wasn’t enough. Sometimes you need a coach to shatter a water bottle against the locker room wall or snap a clipboard in half.

What do I mean?

I went back the next year. Again, the preaching impacted me deeply. I began devouring podcasts on church planting, missions, and methodology. I followed missionaries our church supported. I read biographies. I prayed more intentionally.

Then I went back a third year.

During one breakout session—a general Q&A with missionaries—questions were being asked one after another. With about ten minutes left in the thirty-minute session, there was a lull. Silence filled the room.

Suddenly, a former missionary—someone I deeply respected—spoke up and said:

“At some point you have to get in or get out. Some of you I see come every year and you have made no decision. If you’re not going to get in then maybe it’s best you don’t keep coming back to this thing.”

I was shocked.

I had never heard anything so direct—so plain—regarding surrender to missions. In fact, I was angry.

Who does this guy think he is? Doesn’t he know that this isn’t proper American Church language?

But he was talking to me.

Or at least the Holy Spirit applied it to me.

Scripture says:

“Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” (Hebrews 3:15, KJV)

And in that moment, I knew I was hearing His voice.

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Today, that man is a friend. I’m not even sure he understands the impact his statement made on my life—or how refreshing it was to hear something that didn’t sound overly religious or polished.

It was simple.

“Surrender or go home.”

And by the way—I did go home.

I returned to my church and made a decision: I wouldn’t be going back to that conference the next year. I had already heard enough. He was right. I knew what I needed to do.

A few years later, I did return—but only to meet with the leadership of the hosting mission board about becoming a missionary through their board.

Today, I am writing this to you from China.

And I want to ask you a question.

Not “Who will go?”

But:

“Will YOU go?”

If I could make it more direct, I would.

When we first arrived, I looked out the window of our hotel at the middle school across the street—thousands of students filling the campus. I stood there wondering:

How will they hear?

Paul asked the same question centuries ago:

“How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14, KJV)

And the implied question still hangs in the air:

If not us… then who?

If not you… then who?

The fields are still white unto harvest (John 4:35). The command has not changed. The need has not diminished.

So I ask you plainly—

Will YOU go?