The Mission of the Church
After Jesus’ death and resurrection, he spent 40 days on earth ministering to people and preparing His disciples for life without Him. Jesus planned on leaving earth and ascending to heaven, but before doing so, He gave His disciples a mission found in Matthew 28:19-20. We often call this mission The Great Commission.
The Great Commission begins with getting up and going to places where people need to hear about the good news of Jesus. This doesn’t mean you have to leave your country—there are people in your own neighborhood and workplace that need to hear the hope of Jesus.
The ultimate goal of the Great Commission is to make followers of Jesus. So as we go about sharing the good news of Jesus with people, we're to show people how Jesus has changed our lives, and invite them to discover Jesus for themselves.
Jesus also instructs us to baptize new believers. Baptism is a symbol of someone’s incorporation into the family of God. It is their public display of their new faith in Jesus. Baptism is such an important part of the Christian life that Jesus made sure to include it in our mission.
It can be easy to think that making disciples and baptizing believers is the responsibility of our church pastors and ministry leaders. While those things certainly are part of every church’s mission, Jesus intended for every believer to be making disciples.
So take a moment to think about someone in your own life who helped you grow spiritually. Ask God to bring to mind someone you can help and disciple. Then, allow God to give you the courage to share the hope of Jesus with those around you.
Think Like a Child
Think about the greatest person you’ve ever met. What is it about the person that makes them stand out to you? Maybe it’s their accomplishments, their character, their power or wealth, or the way they handle hard situations.
Now compare that impressive person to a child in your life. According to Jesus, anyone who is truly great in His kingdom will be like that little child. In fact, to even enter into His kingdom, we need to be childlike. Here’s why:
Children rely on others to meet their needs. Little children instinctively know that they are vulnerable and helpless. They aren’t afraid to ask for help when they need it because they know that help from the right person is their source of strength.
Children don’t care about acquiring power. They don’t view others as threats to their authority because they don’t have any authority to threaten. Everything a child has is given to them.
Children know who they belong to. Children know who to run to when ...