Concern for the souls of the "savages" was part of the mission into Virginia. When this courageous band had been sent off from England, the Reverend Mr. William Crashaw reminded the colonists, "that the end of this voyage is the destruction of the devil's kingdom, and the propagation of the Gospel."19

The King's 1606 patent for Virginia explained that the purpose of their mission to the New World was that: So noble a work may, by the Providence of God, hereafter tend to the glorie of his divine majestie, in propagating of Christian religion to such people as sit in darkness and miserable ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God, and may in time bring the infidels and savages (living in those parts) to human civility and quiet government.20

Whether as General, a private citizen, or as president, Washington never swerved from an expressed commitment to the Christian evangelistic mission to the Native Americans that was a legacy bequeathed to him by the very first Anglican settlers of the colony of Virginia.

The King's instructions included that "all persons should kindly treat the savages and heathen people in these parts, and use all proper means to draw them to the true service and knowledge of God."21 As early as 1588, Sir Walter Raleigh had given 100 pounds for the "propagation of Christianity in Virginia."22

Lived from day to day, his testimony of the risen Lord would ring true, that others who would accompany Alban on his journey would bear strong witness wherever they went.

Yet the last words the Lord Jesus spoke to us before rising into the sky and departing from us were these: 'But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

I have this call in my heart to reach all people.

I've observed an unmistakable synergy between engagement in purposeful, proactive outreach and serendipitous encounters with people that lead to spiritually significant conversations. Taking the initiative to present reasons for faith in Christ with people who don't yet know him and who realize we're there for that purpose can enhance our sensitivity and readiness for moments when the Holy Spirit surprises us with such opportunities.

The principal end both of my father and of myself in the conquest of India... has been the propagation of the holy Catholic faith.

Trying to do the Lord's work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you.

You have had to travel a long way to get here, to tell us about the Lord Jesus. Please thank your tribe that they have allowed you to come here.

And the church does not exist for us. We are the church, and we exist for the world.