-by Bruce Garner, CrossPoint Church

It wasn’t an afterthought, or a last-minute idea from the Lord Jesus.  He doesn’t work that way.  There are no contingency plans or course corrections with Him. Jesus does exactly what He wants, and He knows the end from the beginning.

 His order to go preach the gospel and make disciples in the whole world appears in various forms in all four gospels as well as the book of Acts.  We call this the “Great Commission.” It is repeated because it is important. 

Pastors, here are some ideas to help us refocus on what Jesus told us to do.

1. Lead by example.

This is always necessary, and mission work is no exception.  If missions doesn’t show up in your budget and your calendar, your people will get the idea that it is optional.

            Pastor, plan the mission trip.  Go on the trip. 

            Set the giving goal.  Give toward the giving goal. 

            Invite missionaries to your church and let them present and preach. 

            Good pastors lead from the front.  Get after it!

2. Start with your Jerusalem, but keep pushing toward the “end of the earth.” 

            It is tempting and trendy to do local outreach and call it missions. 

            Take another look at your budget and calendar.  Have you been bold and generous to help spread the gospel to people and places that cannot be part of your local church?  If not, prayerfully make the changes needed to encompass the entire Great Commission.  Yes, it may “cost” you locally, but it will help fill up heaven and it will be obedience to Jesus.

3. Ask the Lord for more workers for the harvest.

            Every church knows that finding, training, and encouraging people to work in the local church is a vital, never-ending task. 

            Consider how you can empower people in the same way so they can serve the cause of missions. 

            Are you inviting people to consider missionary service?  Could you start a “Missions Care” team to send your missionaries care packages and Christmas gifts?  Will you announce an annual Christmas Missions Offering that will go toward missionary support and projects?

            If you’re in the front lines of local church leadership, you already know how much personal faith and personal action matter. 

            If missions has slipped to the back burner because there is so much to do at home (and there always  is!), pick three things to do for the Great Commission in 2020.  We have our orders.  Let’s go!

You can see this article and much more in the Global Partners Volume 2 issue available through this link!