Go therefore and make disciples of all nations
Matthew 28:19
The Mission of the Church: Our Biblical Mandate
Why did Christ institute the Church? We need to ask this question and then seek to answer it. As we do this, we should anchor our answers in God’s Word. In so doing we will be defining the MISSION of the Church, the Body of Christ in the world.
By perusing other church’s mission statements, it is quickly apparent that many churches put priority on the experience of Sunday worship services. Worship, praise, and messages conveyed in sermons are vital. Also strategic in many mission statements is the impact of the church in its local context. Churches should take a stand against poverty and injustice and respond in whatever means possible to the issues of human need.
But we fall far short of understanding why Christ designated the Church – His Body – to be his presence in the world if we do not see it as the primary agency for reaching lost mankind. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus tells Peter that, in fact, all the powers of hell will be brought to bear against the Church but that they will not prevail. This statement underscores the global significance of the Church by describing the opposition it will face as it undertakes its mission in the world.
Today, as the Church responds to the lostness of nations where the Gospel has never been preached, we act in obedience to the timeless Word of God, who commands us through the prophets to declare His glory to the nations (peoples). We are also acting in response to the words of the resurrected Christ who commanded His disciples to “go make disciples of all nations (peoples) …”(Matthew 28:19).
In short, Christ’s redemptive work on the cross was the supreme sacrifice to bring all mankind to the saving knowledge of His death and resurrection. The missions program at Freedom Church must, and will, faithfully reflect the love of Christ for all mankind. We are GLOBAL in our commitment and – by God’s grace and provision – will begin here at home in our own “Jerusalem” and faithfully and diligently seek to resource the sending of missionaries, God’s agents of redemption, to the farthest corners of our earth.
Why did Christ institute the Church? We need to ask this question and then seek to answer it. As we do this, we should anchor our answers in God’s Word. In so doing we will be defining the MISSION of the Church, the Body of Christ in the world.
By perusing other church’s mission statements, it is quickly apparent that many churches put priority on the experience of Sunday worship services. Worship, praise, and messages conveyed in sermons are vital. Also strategic in many mission statements is the impact of the church in its local context. Churches should take a stand against poverty and injustice and respond in whatever means possible to the issues of human need.
But we fall far short of understanding why Christ designated the Church – His Body – to be his presence in the world if we do not see it as the primary agency for reaching lost mankind. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus tells Peter that, in fact, all the powers of hell will be brought to bear against the Church but that they will not prevail. This statement underscores the global significance of the Church by describing the opposition it will face as it undertakes its mission in the world.
Today, as the Church responds to the lostness of nations where the Gospel has never been preached, we act in obedience to the timeless Word of God, who commands us through the prophets to declare His glory to the nations (peoples). We are also acting in response to the words of the resurrected Christ who commanded His disciples to “go make disciples of all nations (peoples) …”(Matthew 28:19).
In short, Christ’s redemptive work on the cross was the supreme sacrifice to bring all mankind to the saving knowledge of His death and resurrection. The missions program at Freedom Church must, and will, faithfully reflect the love of Christ for all mankind. We are GLOBAL in our commitment and – by God’s grace and provision – will begin here at home in our own “Jerusalem” and faithfully and diligently seek to resource the sending of missionaries, God’s agents of redemption, to the farthest corners of our earth.
Pray, Give, Go
Ted and Judy Olsen sponsored one of their associates from India at their home in 2015 and invited folks over to meet him and learn about the mission God had laid on his heart. It was an amazing night. Prakash shared how God was moving in India among what is called “unengaged people groups” and “unreached people groups.” These are entire groups of people that have few or no believers in Christ. As followers of Christ, we are commissioned to make disciples of all nations. This is happening in India, and it is happening right here in Colorado Springs. It is humbling to be invited into the process of God calling people to Himself and seeing those people accept Jesus Christ’s work on the cross as the only payment for sin! Amen!! Lives are being transformed.
I would like to encourage us to see our entire life through a biblical mission lens. This means that we are always on mission and everywhere we go is the mission field. People are either lost or saved. Every single person we meet is in one of those categories. New Testament Christianity teaches that God has His own vision for the world and for His people. If we are committed to follow Christ, we need to get involved where God wants us to get involved. As Mark 16:15 says, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” This is a global and local vision, a daily task, and a personal agenda given to each of us.
I would like to challenge each of us to examine the call on our lives and make a personal commitment to be fearless by praying daily, giving generously, and going boldly for Christ. This involves going across the street and around the world.
I would like to encourage us to see our entire life through a biblical mission lens. This means that we are always on mission and everywhere we go is the mission field. People are either lost or saved. Every single person we meet is in one of those categories. New Testament Christianity teaches that God has His own vision for the world and for His people. If we are committed to follow Christ, we need to get involved where God wants us to get involved. As Mark 16:15 says, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” This is a global and local vision, a daily task, and a personal agenda given to each of us.
I would like to challenge each of us to examine the call on our lives and make a personal commitment to be fearless by praying daily, giving generously, and going boldly for Christ. This involves going across the street and around the world.
Pray Daily
Pray daily for the world, the unreached, our neighbor, our missionary family, and the lost.
Lord Jesus, we pray for your servants, seeking to bring the liberating power of the gospel to places of great brokenness and evil, extreme hunger, poverty, disease, violence, oppression, and cruel injustice. Grant them protection and success. Give them fresh wind and fresh fire of your Spirit that they may not grow weary of doing good. Give them strength to know for certain that a harvest of righteousness and peace is coming. Father, may our hearts also grow more like yours, with faithfulness to your call, and a love and burden for the lost and the nations.
Resources to help you pray:
“Operation World” handbook and online guide to praying for the nations.
“Joshua Project” online guide to praying for unreached people groups.
Pray daily for the world, the unreached, our neighbor, our missionary family, and the lost.
Lord Jesus, we pray for your servants, seeking to bring the liberating power of the gospel to places of great brokenness and evil, extreme hunger, poverty, disease, violence, oppression, and cruel injustice. Grant them protection and success. Give them fresh wind and fresh fire of your Spirit that they may not grow weary of doing good. Give them strength to know for certain that a harvest of righteousness and peace is coming. Father, may our hearts also grow more like yours, with faithfulness to your call, and a love and burden for the lost and the nations.
Resources to help you pray:
“Operation World” handbook and online guide to praying for the nations.
“Joshua Project” online guide to praying for unreached people groups.
Give Generously
Generously give to support the work of missions.
Each month, FC takes a portion of the tithes and offerings and gives them to our missionaries. We currently support work in Colorado Springs, Nashville, Uganda, India, Nepal, and several other places. We also have missionaries serving from our faith family. We take up special offerings a few times a year and highly encourage you to give directly to them. We give by faith-every aspect of our Christian walk should flow from faith, including our giving. We pray and ask God to allow us to give beyond what we can see as our ability to give. We give sacrificially. Sacrificial giving produces overflowing joy and creates a patter for faith-based generosity. What are we willing to do or give up so the Gospel can be spread around the world? This kind of giving pleases God and blesses us as well.
Generously give to support the work of missions.
Each month, FC takes a portion of the tithes and offerings and gives them to our missionaries. We currently support work in Colorado Springs, Nashville, Uganda, India, Nepal, and several other places. We also have missionaries serving from our faith family. We take up special offerings a few times a year and highly encourage you to give directly to them. We give by faith-every aspect of our Christian walk should flow from faith, including our giving. We pray and ask God to allow us to give beyond what we can see as our ability to give. We give sacrificially. Sacrificial giving produces overflowing joy and creates a patter for faith-based generosity. What are we willing to do or give up so the Gospel can be spread around the world? This kind of giving pleases God and blesses us as well.
Go Boldly
Boldly go across the street and around the world with the Gospel.
Dedicate time to make the Gospel known outside your context, domestically or internationally. There are several tools that are available to help you share the gospel with your family, friends, or neighbors. The best one is time. Spend time with them. Get to know them. Honestly love them and look for ways to meet their needs. By showing genuine love for them, it will open doors of opportunity to share your story and ultimately, God’s story. I highly recommend the book Concentric Circles of Concern as a good place to start processing through your relationships.
How awesome is the mission Christ has given us? Jesus told the disciples (and us) in Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Church, go, be a witness, for Christ, anywhere and everywhere, all the time!
Boldly go across the street and around the world with the Gospel.
Dedicate time to make the Gospel known outside your context, domestically or internationally. There are several tools that are available to help you share the gospel with your family, friends, or neighbors. The best one is time. Spend time with them. Get to know them. Honestly love them and look for ways to meet their needs. By showing genuine love for them, it will open doors of opportunity to share your story and ultimately, God’s story. I highly recommend the book Concentric Circles of Concern as a good place to start processing through your relationships.
How awesome is the mission Christ has given us? Jesus told the disciples (and us) in Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Church, go, be a witness, for Christ, anywhere and everywhere, all the time!
Active Missionaries
Ted & Judy Olsen
India, Nepal
Ted and Judy focus primarily on the world’s unengaged people groups. These are the tribes, castes, and cultures with no believers, no churches, and no one currently endeavoring to evangelize them. Their objective, as they work in partnership with national leaders in India, Nepal, and Myanmar, is to engage the culture with the Gospel with the first conversions and the planting of the first informal fellowships.
David & Rebekah Kaufmann
Nashville
City Church of Woodbine began in 2011 with a vision to birth a church planting movement in Nashville, TN that would successfully spread the gospel among all refugee and immigrant communities in the city. David’s hope is that someday Nashville will be known as a light unto the nations (Isaiah 49:6).
Matt & Noelle Harris
Uganda
The Harris’ work with Terebinth Ministries, whose focus is the spiritual and physical health of the Acholi people in Gulu, Uganda. Training local pastors to interpret scripture with scripture, taking them verse by verse and chapter by chapter through the whole of God’s Word. They also work closely with Terebinth’s medical clinic and agricultural projects, which help provide for the physical needs of the community.
Berean Fellowship
The LIFE Center - Colorado Springs
