Missions 101

The great commission is discipleship. Sharing the Gospel and allowing the Holy Spirit to convict and save. Following Yeshua’s example for the three years that he had his twelve “disciples”. It is one-on-one. Bearing fruit of the new life Yeshua has given us...

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mat. 28:18-20, ESV)

Please read and re-read the above verse. Somehow that verse totally gets mis-interpreted. See the word order? Go and make disciple of all nations COMMA baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit COMMA teach them to observe all that I have commanded you. Word order is soooo important when reading, especially God’s Word. But that is not my goal here. My goal is to open eyes to the biblical definition of missions. I realized the importance of this article when I was publicly chastised because of a desire to reach the gay community for Christ. Steve has been bullied and criticized for merely sharing the idea of a missions’ conference. After much prayer, the Lord pressed upon my heart that people just do not understand what the great commission is.

OK What is the great commission?

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mat. 28:18-20, ESV)

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8, ESV)

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15, ESV)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Rom. 1:16, ESV)

The great commission is discipleship. Sharing the Gospel and allowing the Holy Spirit to convict and save. Following Yeshua’s example for the three years that he had his twelve “disciples”. It is one-on-one. Bearing fruit of the new life Yeshua has given us.

Sadly, the church has done a very poor job of discipling. Our life is to be one of discipleship. Who is our authority? G-O-D If a branch is dead, it bears no fruit.

If we were all doing what God commanded, our churches would be overflowing with new believers. The great commission / making disciples is hard, requires face-to-face training, and it demands our time.

I repeat: The church has done a poor job in making disciples. Let me add that one who loves the gospel, loves the church. Let me add that one who loves the gospel, loves the church. But we have become lax in spreading the gospel, the Good News.

What can we do?

Older women need to be one on one discipling younger women, likewise older men discipling the younger.

• Establish their salvation. Never assume. Some people think going to church makes them a Christian. (Well, standing in a funeral home does not make you dead.)
• Teaching the women and men how to parent biblically if they have children.
• Encourage a bible study with them or encourage them to be involved in one (i.e., Bible Study Fellowship, Community Bible Study, or others that are based solely on the Bible and not man’s opinion).
• Pray with them and teach them to pray if they do not know how. Share requests and answers to prayer (not gossip).
• Teach them how to be a better spouse.
• Have them in your home for fellowship with other believers.
• Read a Biblical study book together (i.e., Ruth, Daniel, Ephesians, James, etc.).
• Encourage them to join a ministry (greeter, nursery worker, cart driver etc.).

Spend one day a month nurturing the child you were entrusted with as a sponsor (I believe some churches may refer to them as god-parents).

• Make sure they understand salvation.
• Create accountability to verse memory.
• Pray with them, teach them to pray, and share a prayer booklet with them, so they can record prayer requests and answers to prayer.
• Be an example of the love of Yeshua and explain it is a new commandment.
• Allow them to see you witness when you are out, as opportunity allows. Encourage them to share the gospel.
• Teach how to have daily devotions and time with God.
• Encourage them to love and pray for their pastor and missionaries.
• Ask questions about their Sunday school lessons and what they mean to them. All these things can be incorporated into a sweet time, whetting their appetite for your next time together.
• Pray daily for them. Send birthday cards, etc. Focus their attention on Yeshua.

The object is a closer walk with God.

Missions is sharing the gospel, making disciples, investing your life into another’s with the goal of their salvation and spiritual growth. Missions builds the body of the Messiah; it does not divide.

Other Aspects of Missions

• Financially support missionaries.
• Find out who your church supports and privately give above your tithe and offering.
• Have missionaries come to your church to share their field and outreach with the congregation. As an example: our church has the Gideons yearly.
• Pray for your missionaries. When I was serving on the foreign field, it was encouraging to know that people back home were praying for me. Our precious Micah kept a ring of 3x5 cards with the names of missionaries and loved ones one the cards and prayed daily for them. He always had the ring of cards on the bedstand. He himself had been a missionary with Jews for Jesus.
• Send cards on their birthdays and Christmas.
• Communicate with them and find out if they have any needs. I have a friend in Oregon, who knows I love fall. She sent me an envelope every year with beautiful colored leaves she collected from her trees. That meant so much to me, especially in Israel!
• Encourage your children to send pictures or write notes. I have a stack of letters and pictures that were sent to me from various churches when I lived in Russia. I would tape them on my walls, and the Russian ladies in my Bible studies would love them as much as I did.
• Post the missionaries letters so everyone can read them. Steve and I are so blessed when we see our monthly letter on a church bulletin board.
• Support LWML. Get involved. I sincerely tell you that this is an outstanding and worthy mission support organization.
• Have a mission conference. This is the best way to get the church introduced to missionaries. It is a wonderful way to expose our children to missions and evangelism. Do not confuse a missions’ conference with hosting a fair - there is NO correlation between the two. I have participated in hundreds of mission conferences around the states. They can last two days to a weeklong and it takes minimal effort to organize.

Yeshua was the first Missionary. God sent Him to earth to bring the Good News of Salvation through His sacrifice!! Get involved. It breaks my heart to see contention in a church because they don’t want to promote missions.  One (of many) reasons the Lord gave me peace to marry Steve is because he was LCMS.  My home/sending pastor said if its LCMS it will be a good fit – they are missions-minded.

If you are called to be a missionary, don’t stoop to be a king. -- Charles Spurgeon

And now, brothers, shalom! Put yourselves in order, pay attention to my advice, be of one mind, live in shalom — and the God of love and shalom will be with you. (2 Cor. 13:11, CJB)

Love from my heart,

nanC

Nancy Cohen is the Director of Women's Ministries at Apple of His Eye

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