what is a "world christian"?  

“World Christians are day-to-day disciples for whom Christ’s global cause has become (an) integrating...priority for all that He is for them. Like disciples should, they have actively investigated all that their Master’s Great Commission means, and then built a way-of-life that prepares them for action in it. Some may go, some may send. But all count strategically for the cause.”
-David Bryant

"A tiny group of believers who have the gospel keep mumbling it over and over to themselves. Meanwhile, millions who have never heard it once fall into the flames of eternal hell without ever hearing the salvation story."
- K.P. Yohannan

"If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him...Some wish to live within the sound of a chapel bell, I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of Hell."
- C.T. Studd

What it means to be a World Christian
by David Bryant

What, then, shall we call this discovery that can change us so radically and yet make us so healthy? And, what shall we call those who have experienced it?
By now it should be obvious that all Christians are born again into the Gap between God's world-wide purpose and the fulfillment of it. But there's more than one kind of response to that Gap.
Some are asleep, some are on retreat, and some are determined to stand in the Gap particularly at it's widest end where billions await the opportunity to hear of Christ for the first time. Some are heading into the "sunrise of missions" while others huddle in the shadows. Many move along at a sluggish pace, changing little in the Gap because of their own internal gap-of-unbelief. Others run the race before them setting no limits on how, where, or among whom God will use them.

Others have broken through into cause-Christianity, ready to reach out with God's love to the ends of the earth. They are determined to make Christ's global cause the unifying focus - the context - for all they are and do in the Gap. Yielded to the mediator, they are willing to be broken and remolded to fit in the Gap wherever they can make the most strategic impact. In turn they're growing to know Christ, obey Him, and glorify Him as the mediator.

What shall we call this distinct group of Christians who have taken a stand that says:
We want to accept personal responsibility for reaching some of earth's unreached, especially from among the billions at the widest end of the Gap who can only be reached through major new efforts by God's people. Among every people-group where there is no vital, evangelizing Christian community there should be one, there must be one, there shall be one. Together we want to help make this happen.

For a moment, let's call them WORLD CHRISTIANS. Of course, any new term might be misunderstood. For example some might think I said "worldly" Christians, not World Christians. No, the term is not in your Bible concordance. Don't worry. It isn't another cliche like the words of the bumper sticker that reads "Honk-if-the-Rapture starts." It's not some label for the elite Christian. Rather, the term describes what all of us are meant to be and what some of us have started to become.

The term "World Christian" may have been coined first by Daniel Fleming in a 1920 YMCA book entitled Marks of a World Christian. More recently the term has appeared in the literature of dozens of organizations including WorldTeam and Campus Crusade for Christ.

Some World Christians are missionaries who stand in the Gap by physically crossing major human barriers (cultural, political, etc.) to bring the Gospel to those who can hear no other way. But every Christian is meant to be a World Christian, whether you physically "go", or stay at home to provide the sacrificial love, prayers, training, money, and quality of corporate life that backs the witness of those who "go". World Christians are day-to-day disciples for whom Christ's global cause has become the integrating, overriding priority for all that life is for them. Like disciples should, they actively investigate all that their Master's Great Commission means. Then they act on what they learn.
World Christians are Christians whose life directions have been solidly transformed by a world vision.

World Christians are (in Corrie Ten Boom's phrase) "tramps for the Lord" who have left their hiding places to roam the Gap with the Savior. They are heaven's expatriates, camping where the kingdom is best served. They are earth's dispossessed, who've journeyed forth to give a dying world not only the Gospel but their own souls as well. They are members of God's global dispersion down through history and out through the nations, reaching the unreached and blessing the families of earth.

Growing As A World Christians

1. Wake up every day with a grand intention
“Jesus, i am willing this day to seriously explore any new possibilities in Your role for me in Christ’s global cause, and to obey immediately whatever You show me.” Our primary role isn’t going or sending, but being unconditionally willing.

2. Let the Holy spirit give your life a world dimension.
He roams throughout the whole earth doing the will of God (Rev. 5:6, John 16:7-11) He remains or constant, most intimate companion (1 Cor. 6:17).

3. Dig into Scripture as a World Christian.
“God has a wonderful plan for the nations, and He loves you and me enough to give us a place in it.” Scripture unfolds that awesome blueprint. The more we study it, the more God will show us right where we fit into His plans.

4. Foster praise as a World Christian, intercede.
Join with others in prayer for spiritual awakening and world evangeliztion. Stand in the gap.

5. Build you world vision.
Where does God want you to go today? Where does God want you to prepare to go today?

6. Explore the possibilities with others.
This is no time for loners. Gather regularly with other World Christians in your church for Bible study and prayer. Help each-other in evaluating gifts, experiences, and strengths. Be an active part in the Body.

7. Start reaching out now.
Get involved in cross-cultural ministry in your city. (II Thess. 1:11, 12)

8. Construct a World Christian lifestyle.
In a sense, all of the previous steps help us to do this. we need to actively work at integrating a world vision into everything we think, say, and do, and into the decision we make along the way. Our current commitment to the cause of Christ will define how we spend our money, what we study in school, what TV programs we watch, who we marry, how we serve our local church, what magazines we read, and how we disciple new Christians. This daily lifestyle includes devotions with Christ‘s global cause in mind, staying up on current events in the world, interceding, sharing with other believers what God is doing in your life and the life of believers around the world, give God the time before going to sleep.