How do you decide what to do in life?

Business and leadership philosophies from the twentieth century emphasized organizational core values and mission statements. I remember reading a leadership book that had layers of organizational structures detailing the differences between mission statements and vision statements. Mission and vision statements and core values are good things to think about, but they have to be applied and become our culture rather than merely written down.

Mission statements have to be more than words on a wall. Our mission has to be the way that we live our lives.

When it comes to leadership, business, or your organization, much room is left for determining core values and mission. But in the church, we don’t get to decide on our mission. Jesus already gave it to us.

¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ 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, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20

This is the mission value. It coincides with the gospel value I posted several weeks back. While the gospel is both our entry point into faith and our means of growth from faith, our mission is the motivation for what we do.

The Mission Motto: Lead our neighbors and the nations to follow Jesus. 

More than a decade ago when I came to be the pastor at Wilkesboro Baptist, we adopted this statement as our church mission: leading our neighbors and the nations to follow Jesus. This is what Jesus commanded in Matthew 28. The mission of God is found all over the Bible–from Abraham’s call that would bless the nations, to the promises through the prophets that the nations would become God’s people, to the celebrations of the peoples in Psalm 96, to Jesus sending his followers out with the good news, and to the culmination of the promise that peoples of all tribes, tongues, and nations would be a part of the heavenly chorus of worship (Revelation 5 and 7). God’s mission through his church is the redemption of sinners whether they be our neighbors or the nations.

As I began evaluating my life, choices, habits, and decisions, I realized this mission had to become my mission. There are a lot of things I can do to fulfill my job or my ambitions, but the one thing I must do is lead others to follow Jesus.

Leading others to follow Jesus begins where we are–our homes, neighborhoods, work environments, friendships, places of leisure. We begin with those we know. But our mission cannot end there. Jesus commanded his followers to go to the nations with his good news. Jesus wants followers from all peoples. This is why mission giving, engagement, and involvement are so important. We have the gospel here in our country, but there are approximately 6,000 people groups representing 2.6 billion people who have little or no gospel witness in their language.

Adopting a life’s mission frames decision-making. What I do, how I spend my time, how I lead at my church, how I hope I interact at home, should all be under the rubric of this decision.

When we adopted this mission statement, we also identified four mission steps that help us make disciples: worship, learn, serve, replicate. These four active verbs build upon our church programing and structure. They also serve as the next step in helping lead others to follow Jesus. You might think that making disciples is intimidating. At some level, I understand that. But even Jesus said that his yoke is easy and his burden is light (Matthew 11:25-30). Replicating the life of Jesus in someone else (leading them to follow Jesus) begins with inviting them to worship (Sunday morning gatherings). It grows into our learning environments of Sunday school, discipleship groups, and Bible studies where the community and accountability around God’s Word helps followers grow as learners. The third step is serving others. (We’ll address this in a separate value in an upcoming post). In short, believers are gifted by the Spirit to serve one another. The fourth step is replicating the life of Jesus in another, that is leading someone else to know and follow Jesus. In our church context, leading them through the steps of worshiping, learning, and serving is the process of replicating Christ in them.

Meditation Takeaways:

• In your devotions, look for examples of God’s desire to make the nations his people. The Bible is filled with examples and commandments of missional living.
• Read and reflect on the following passages: Matthew 28:18-20, Romans 1:1-17, Revelation 5, and Revelation 7:9-17. These passages are intrinsic to the mission of leading others to follow Jesus.
• Evaluate your choices and values in light of the mission God has for you. Are there things you need to change? Do you need to rethink your spending/giving habits? Do you need to go on a mission trip? Do you need to become a missionary? These are not trite questions. We should consider them deeply.
• Ask yourself the following evaluation questions. Where are you on your journey of following Jesus? Worshiping regularly? Learning daily? Serving sincerely? Replicating intentionally? Who can you help take their next step in following Jesus?
• Commit to sharing the gospel to introduce others to Jesus. Following Jesus begins with meeting and knowing him. Courage to share begins with a heart to obey Jesus’ command in Matthew 28 and with a willingness to pray for sinners and share with them. Who can you invite to coffee or lunch or to your house to show and share the love of Christ with?

I have tried to frame my job, calling, and practices around this mission. Even here as I blog, I aim “to lead others to follow Jesus one word at a time.” If these posts help you on your journey as a follower of Jesus, then I’ve accomplished my goal. Also, if they help you, they may help someone else. Feel free to share with others.

Grace and Peace on your journey this week!