What is the church’s top priority? The answer could be love. It might be faith. Perhaps preaching the gospel would be a fine answer. The last thing Jesus commanded the church before his ascension into heaven was what we call the Great Commission, which reveals God’s missionary heart. Simply put, we are commissioned to go and make disciples, to teach others to be Christ followers and fishers of men who will teach others to do the same. Notwithstanding the importance of the above mentioned things, I believe God’s mission, the Great Commission, must be our top priority.
God wants us to extend his kingdom by reproducing ourselves in others.
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 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 (ESV)
It is easy to substitute any number of good things for the mission. We can make great preaching and teaching our highest priority. If you ask average churchgoers why they like their churches, many will say that it is because of the great preaching, the wonderful worship, the kids’ programs, etc. Many churches opt for prioritizing community service, potlucks, worship, prayer, Bible studies, fellowship, you name it… anything but sharing the gospel and making disciples. Nothing makes the devil and religious churchgoers as angry as prioritizing the Great Commission.
Generally, we balk at leaving the comfortable confines of our church culture to pursue those who do not yet know Christ. It takes a deliberate focus and commitment to mission for it to happen.
It is not enough to simply adopt mission as a “value” or a subset of the church’s activity and effort. It must become the engine that pulls the train.
Otherwise, being on mission will tend to be an option instead of our priority. The Genesis command to be fruitful and multiply has not been rescinded.
The “Go” of the Great Commission
It is only natural to want to stay put and enjoy the benefits of being part of a local church, which are many. The fellowship is wonderful. There is a comfort in knowing that the people around us are like-minded servants of Jesus. It is great to be enveloped in a culture that fosters sound biblical thinking and values. We like to keep ourselves and those we love in a “safe” environment.
Many of us adopt a fortress mentality in which we try to wall out the world and its negative influences. In this scenario, the mission devolves into inviting people to enter the fort and become part of the enclave.
But this is not obedience to the first part of the Great Commission, which is “Go.” Jesus told his disciples that he was sending them.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” John 20:21 (ESV)
The “go” part of the Great Commission asks us to leave our comfort and safety zones and venture into the world of those who do not know Christ.
If we are recently born again, this is not too formidable, but for those who have been believers a long time, it may be.
For Abraham it meant leaving land, family, friends, culture, and familiar “gods” to serve the one true God in a liminal and yet unknown place. It meant taking steps of faith without the benefit of a well-thought-out plan or end game. All he had was the command to go coupled with a promise, and he went.
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. Hebrews 11:8 (NLT)
Jesus emphasized the “go” when he taught the parable of the shepherd who left the 99 sheep to go after the one lost one. He emphasized the “go” when he prayed that Father God would send laborers into the harvest.
He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. 38 So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” Matthew 9:37–38 (NLT)
Then why do we find it so difficult to go?
Going requires sacrifice, courage, faith, and a willingness to suffer and endure uncertainty, inevitable disappointment and setbacks, heartbreak, loss, and enormous challenges. Some of the people we “go” to will not appreciate us at all. However, some will be forever grateful, which makes it all worthwhile. More importantly, Jesus will be pleased and honored, and we will accrue eternal reward.
Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. Mark 10:29-30 (ESV)
The going of mission is both the most rewarding thing we will ever do and potentially the most costly.
That is why many of us shy away from obedience to the Great Commission. Jesus called shrinking from obedience “falling away.”
And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. Mark 4:17 (ESV)
If we fall away from obedience to the mission in times of peace, what will happen to us when persecution arrives? In fact, the proper preaching of the gospel and obedience to the Great Commission invites persecution. Paul wrote:
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 2 Timothy 3:12 (ESV)
Perhaps the lack of persecution in our nation today betrays a lack of commitment to the Great Commission. However, God’s grace is sufficient to help us become committed disciplemakers.
So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! 36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. Hebrews 10:35–36 (NLT)
Making Disciples
The second part of the Great Commission is making disciples. There is a huge difference between a disciple and a mere churchgoer; although, disciples have a strong commitment to church attendance (Hebrews 10:25).
Attending church meetings costs relatively little but being a disciple challenges us to make a strong commitment to Christ and his mission.
So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:33 (ESV)
Jesus violated just about every church growth principle in this passage. He came across rather negatively, repeating the phrase, “cannot be my disciple,” three times. It is as if he were trying to weed out anyone who would not make the commitment.
The leaven of partial commitment is contagious.
He did not encourage his followers to simply join his movement and face the decision of making a stronger commitment later. He set the bar high from the beginning. Although we generally move toward greater and greater commitment over a lifetime, the reverse is often the case.
People “backslide” from their initial devotion because the cost becomes greater than what we are willing to pay.
Being a disciple means that we commit to Jesus our Lord as a person. We submit to his rule in our lives through obedience to his teachings and to the prompting of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
The Spirit will lead us to obey the Great Commission, the task of teaching others to be disciples who will also make disciples.
To create a missional culture in a local church, a commitment must be made to develop disciple-making disciples. In other words, church leaders and church members must prioritize duplicating themselves in the lives of others. Churches that commit to making disciples will need to examine their values, priorities, programs… everything… in light of whether or not it advances disciple making.
Disciple making is much more than giving lectures at church meetings. It involves one-on-one and one-on-few instruction and mentoring. It includes a demonstration of how to do ministry, followed by giving the disciple the opportunity to put into practice what was learned with follow-up instruction as needed.
The goal of discipleship is to produce a practitioner, not a mere theologian, churchgoer, or moral paragon.
Churches that commit to creating a missional culture will devote their energy, talent, and resources to pursuing the Great Commission.
Click here to see all the articles in this series.
Questions for Further Study and Discussion
- Did anyone ever mentor or disciple you in teaching and practice?
- Were you informed that you were to go and do the same?
- Discipleship training includes growing in Bible understanding, in sharing the gospel, in ministry skills, and in leadership, if appropriate. Is there any area in which you would like to be mentored, besides the first, which we are doing here?
