A missionary is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith; someone who proselytizes. The word "mission" is derived from the Latin missioninimus (nom. missio), meaning "act of sending" or mitto, mittere, literally meaning "to send" or "to dispatch",[citation needed] the equivalent of the Greek-derived word "apostle" from apostolos, meaning "a delegate, specially, an ambassador of the Gospel; officially a commissioner of Christ["apostle"] (with miraculous powers) Matthew 10:1-2, notice in these verses that when they were given miraculous powers they were then referred to as Apostles.: KJV - apostle, messenger, he that is sent. "Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible"

In Christian cultures the term is most commonly used for Christian missions, but it applies equally to any proselytizing creed or ideology. Buddhism launched 'the first large-scale missionary effort in the history of the world's religions'.

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