Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, left His church with a divine mandate to obey. As we explore the Scriptures, we find that Jesus gave this mandate to His church on the Mount of Olives as His final physical instruction before His ascension to take His place at the Father’s right hand. This sacred order, found in all four Gospel records, is often called the Great Commission. The men and women who comprised Christ’s first church in Jerusalem took this command seriously. They obeyed the Lord and waited in Jerusalem until they were filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit, as described in Acts 2. These individuals were then incredibly faithful, evangelizing Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and even the farthest reaches of the earth before their deaths. Historical accounts tell us that almost all of them died as martyrs for preaching the message of Christ.
When we break it down, every New Testament Church has one purpose: to fulfill the Great Commission. Following this mandate from the Lord, there are three aspects to consider when determining our faithfulness. Every true church and Christian must ensure that these three elements are part of their function.
First, Church members are called to consistently preach the Gospel, both through personal evangelism and during church gatherings. Every member must actively spread the Gospel to the world to fulfill the Great Commission. The church’s purpose is not to provide social support or entertainment but to serve as a platform for preaching the Gospel and sharing the hope found in Jesus’ death and resurrection as the solution to the problem of sin and its consequences.
The second element of the Great Commission involves baptizing new believers in obedience to Christ’s command. The church is responsible for baptizing those who repent and believe in the Gospel. A genuine church does not baptize babies but instead baptizes individuals who have freely chosen to repent and have placed their trust in Christ as their Savior. The authority to baptize is given to the church as part of the Great Commission. While individual believers do not have the authority to baptize, the church does, and those authorized by the church can carry out this aspect of the Great Commission.
The final part of the Great Commission for the church involves discipleship. The local church is responsible for teaching and training those who repent, believe the Gospel, and are baptized into its fellowship. The church aims to guide and educate new believers, helping them grow from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity. It’s a joy to witness new believers grow in grace and become mature enough to take on ministry roles and assist the church in reaching others with the message of the Gospel.
The church and the Christian faithful to the Great Commission will endeavor to reach people locally and have a global mindset and vision. The church should encourage and provide opportunities for the membership to engage the lost with the Gospel message. This endeavor enables our Jerusalem to be reached with the message. A systematic and door-to-door approach to sharing Christ is essential to being faithful to the Great Commission. The church should alsohave a mission program whereby they send those called from the congregation to other places to replicate the work being done in the church. Or they should partner with church-planting missionaries as they are called and obey that calling to share Christ someplace in the world. God desires that biblical churches be planted across the globe to take ownership of the great commission. The preaching of the Gospel among all people is the heartbeat of God, and he expects that we be faithfully engaged in it.
Ministry Asia collaborates with individuals who are committed to fulfilling the Great Commission. Although we are not a church, we are a ministry based in churches that aggressively support those whom God has called to carry out the Great Commission in Asia. God is actively working in Asia, and we aim to encourage and support individuals who are obedient to God’s calling. We invite you to consider partnering with us!
Pastor Kevin Folger
North America Representative – Ministry Asia
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