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Home > Articles > Seven Steps for Following the Great Commission
Seven Steps for Following the Great Commission
How your church can be faithful in doing missions
Church Central

Topics:Cross-cultural outreach, International outreach, Missions, Short-term missions
Filters:Elder, Missionary, Missions, Pastor, Prayer
Purpose:Evangelism
References:Matthew 28:18-20
Date Added:November 04, 2008

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Posted: November 17, 2008
Minister & Consultant Jeani Dickens  (Guest)
Great Site! Thank You & Blessings From Our father God!

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Missions Committee Member
Equip excellent leaders with the skills for helping your church make a global impact.

Launching a Short-Term Missions Program




Important Traits of the Short-Term Missions Leader
Qualities to look for in the people leading teams in the name of Christ to other cultures

Consider Summer Missions
A profitable way to spend your summer.

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Even with the phenomenal opportunities we have to spread the gospel today, much of the world still waits for the good news of Jesus. The numbers reveal the need:

  • Of more than 11,000 people groups, some 6,400 remain unreached (that is, less than 2 percent of the population is evangelical Christian).

  • More than 2,000 of these groups have a population of 100,000 people or more.

  • Of these 2,000 large groups, slightly more than 600 are still unengaged.

  • Some 4,100 groups with a total of 450 million people have no portion of the Scripture available in their language.

  • Each day the world population grows by about 500,000, and the number of people not having an adequate opportunity to respond to the gospel increases by almost 91,000.

This past year, my combined roles as Dean of the Billy Graham School at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and theological education consultant for the international missions agency of the Southern Baptist Convention have allowed me to see global outreach up close. I have worked with dedicated students who are preparing to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. I have also served on the field short-term alongside deeply committed missionaries. I have met national believers who are putting their lives on the line to follow Jesus. As a result, I have seen even more clearly how central the local church is for the work of global outreach.

Praying churches

Most important in the work of a local church to reach globally is prayer for missionaries. Never have I met a missionary who did not long for believers to pray for him. Rather, most missionaries have sought our prayer support more than any other type of assistance. They know that they cannot do the work to which God has called them without his power.

Giving churches

The processes and policies for securing funds vary according to the missionary and the mission agency, but the local church's financial support is always significant. Out of the wealth God has given us, we are privileged to help sustain global outreach.

Sending churches

The local church is also the source of international missionaries. Many of the missionaries I have met speak of a home church that taught them, prayed for them, and sent them out. In fact, the missionaries are now simply a Great Commission extension of that church.

Seven steps closer to reaching the world

In doing the work of global outreach, my church matters. Your church matters. The church down the road matters. Every local church can—and must—play a role if we intend to carry out the Great Commission. Consider these simple ways to increase your church's commitment to global outreach:

  1. Ask God to give you a heart for the world. I have seen entire churches burdened about the Great Commission after God moved first in the life of only one church member. Passionate, mission-minded church members are difficult to ignore!