The Mission of the Church
– (Mat 28:18-20) Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. {19} Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, {20} and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
– (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.”
- The Mission of the Church is EVANGELISM
- The last words of Jesus to the church (above) were commands to witness.
- The Mission is Four-Fold:
- GO
- Make DISCIPLES
- Baptize
- Teach OBEDIENCE
- Note: The commission of Jesus was to the whole church in every age. The imperative word in the commission is “make disciples of all nations.” However, the baptizing and teaching ministries have the force of a mandate because they follow logically the imperative “make disciples.” Matthew concludes his Gospel with the blessed promise of our Lord’s presence as we endeavor to carry the gospel to all people.
- The EXTENT of the Church’s Mission
- Notice the use of “all” in Matthew 28:18:20
– All AUTHORITY; All NATIONS; All THINGS (“everything”); Always
- Acts 1:8 explains the Geographical and Ethnical extent of evangelism
Geographically | Ethnically |
Jerusalem | Jews |
Judea | Jews – Acts chps. 1-7 |
Samaria | Half Jew – Acts 8 – Half Gentile |
Ends of the Earth | Full Gentile – Acts 10ff |
- What should be the extent of our Geographical and Ethnical evangelism?
– Evangelism begins where we are PRESENTLY and extends to all of humanity.
- Church Growth through Evangelism is the NORM. Consider the church in Acts:
– (Acts 1:15) In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty)
– (Acts 2:41) Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
– (Acts 2:47) praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
– (Acts 4:4) But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
– (Acts 5:14) Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.
– (Acts 6:1) In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
– (Acts 6:7) So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
– (Acts 9:31) Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.
– (Acts 11:21) The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
– (Acts 16:5) So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
- Effective Ways to Carry Out the Church’s Mission
- PERSONAL Evangelism
– (Acts 8:35-36) Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. {36} As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?”
– (John 1:41) The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).
- SMALL Groups
– (Rom 16:5) Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.
– (1 Cor 16:15) You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. I urge you, brothers,
– (1 Cor 16:19) The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.
– (Acts 16:32-33) Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. {33} At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized.
– (Acts 18:7-8) Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. {8} Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.
– (Acts 20:20-21) You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. {21} I have declared to both Jews and
Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
- Church Meeting CORPORATELY
1) Note that only those who are believers can truly worship God.
– (John 4:24) God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
2) But…WORSHIP can be a powerful witness to non-Christians.
– (Psa 40:3) He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.
– (Psa 57:9) I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.
– (Psa 126:1-2) When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed. {2} Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”
– (1 Cor 14:23-25) So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? {24} But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, {25} and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”
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