You Have a Mission

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20

These are the words of one of the most well-known passages of Christian Scripture, the Great Commission. In it the disciples are made apostles, and are commissioned to go out and save the world through the power of Jesus Christ. In it we are commissioned to do the same. Go, my brothers and sisters, and make disciples.

This is an unequivocal command, and must be obeyed.

I once attended a talk on foreign missions at which the speaker had ten of us stand in different places up front to provide visual representations of the world’s population. Three of us stood to represent Christians, but it was emphasized right away that of the three of us, only one, a young lady in this case, was a dedicated Christian. We other two were “nominal”. People who would identify as Christians, but did not worship regularly at a church or live out their religion in a dedicated way. Cultural Christians, in other words. 

Two people stood on the other side of the stage to represent the world’s Muslims. One person stood to represent the irreligious. One person stood to represent Hindus. The other three represented the rest of the world’s religions.

We were then told the following (source here): Of foreign mission funding 87% goes for work among those already Christian, 12% for work among already evangelized non-Christians, and 1% for work among the unevangelized and unreached people.¹

This was meant to encourage the audience to do what they could to shift this imbalance. And without question, it is an imbalance.

What was curious was that this was done at the expense of those who worked in missions among professing Christians and non-Christians exposed to the Gospel. My friends, it is before our own master that we must stand and fall. There are no super-missionaries. There are only Christians heeding the call of Jesus.

God has called you, yes, even you, to go and make disciples. From Jerusalem to Samaria to the ends of the earth. From your neighbors, from strangers, and from those who are far off.

You, Christian, I would urge you to take up your calling, your commission, your mission. Has God called you to evangelize in a closed country? Good. Has God called you to go into a far-off jungle and a people without the Bible? Good. Pray and find it out.

What you do know for certain is that you are commissioned, and that you have neighbors. Don’t worry about a missions imbalance unless it worries you. Yep. That made sense, right? Don’t worry about it unless it worries you. Making converts is a beautiful thing, but making disciples is something you must do. Get on it. Be a Christian everywhere you are. Live a life of discipling and discipleship. Go to your neighborhood and fulfill the Great Commission. Go to Mexico and fulfill the Great Commission. Then go to Timbuktu and do the same. They all need you, and you need them. Let the faithful all over the world bless you, and wherever you are, do your mission.

The Kingdom of Jesus Christ continues to advance, and you are one of its citizens and ambassadors. You can serve right now, in some small way. And make no mistake, it will be small, whether you are martyred on a far-away beach or help build a church in a safe and secure country. God has called you, and he will use you.

1. Baxter, Mark R. 2007. The Coming Revolution: Because Status Quo Missions Won't Finish the Job. Mustang, OK: Tate Publishing, 12