A mission statement is more than a slogan. Dr. Peter Drucker observed, “A good mission statement has to be operational, otherwise it’s just good intentions.” When Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples”, He gave His church a very good mission statement (Matt. 28:18-20). It is immediately actionable and infinitely replicable. Jesus commissioned His apostles to go do with others what He had just done with them, which is beautifully recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Those apostles clearly got it, too: they lived Jesus’ mission every day as we see in Acts. They went, made disciples, and baptized, sharing the good news of Jesus’ reign with an international Jewish crowd in Acts 2, a roomful of Gentiles in Acts 10, and cities throughout the Roman Empire through Paul’s ministry from Acts 13 onward. They taught their disciples to observe all Jesus commanded. Soon, those disciples worshiped passionately, prayed powerfully, gave generously, and preached everywhere, too (cf. Acts 2:42-47, 4:23-37, 8:4). On and on it continued: as Paul wrote to Timothy, “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:1-2).
So, when did that stop working? While many today profess to be Jesus’ disciples, our lives often lack the abundance He promised and that His first followers experienced. Yet, Jesus’ mission never stopped working: we just stopped following it. Drucker continued: “A mission statement has to focus on what the institution really tries to do and then do it so that everybody in the organization can say, This is my contribution to the goal.” Oftentimes, that is what is missing. We know “The Great Commission” – but we do not see it as our mission. We consider ourselves “disciples” but without fully training to be like Jesus (cf. Lk. 6:40). “Making disciples” is not our mission in our homes. We do not view our schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods as mission fields. Then when most of our time is spent on things other than Christ’s mission, it is all too easy to allow other agendas to distract us during those precious few hours we do spend together as a church.
Yet, Jesus’ mission is still the right one. It has the same power to change lives today as it did then. As we personally become completely devoted followers of Jesus, we will experience that for ourselves. Jesus reigns: as we accept His mission to go make disciples, lives everywhere will become more abundant – starting with our own.
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