Why do we support and send people all over the world, to share the Gospel with communities we’ve never heard of? Aren’t there plenty of people, right here at home, who also need to hear the message? Well, yes…. But Scripture is clear concerning one of the most central things on God’s heart.

Just before departing this earth, Jesus gave this Great Commission to His Church: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:18-20a)

That said, the Great Commission itself is much more than the final instructions of Jesus before ascending into heaven. Indeed, it is the sum and substance of everything God has done in creation and all He has been doing ever since. From the very beginning God has been on a mission to reveal Himself and the entirety of His Word, from Genesis through Revelation, is part of His own Mission to redeem and restore all of creation to the perfect state it was in before sin entered the picture.

When we come to saving faith in Jesus, we long to share the good news that saved us with those who have not yet heard. By sharing our faith and living it out, here and around the world, we fulfill the Great Commission and join God in His mission to lift up people who have fallen into sin and restore them to a right relationship with Him. So, we go because Jesus asked us to go; we go because our love for others compel us to go; and we go because being an obedient disciple of Christ means being on mission whenever and wherever we are called.