Episode #82—Celebrating the Great Commission: A Biblical Vision for Missions

As Brackenhurst Baptist Church prepares for its annual World Outreach Celebration, it is an opportunity not merely to host an event, but to refocus on the church’s God-given mandate. For over four decades, the church has held a missions conference. In more recent years, that gathering has been intentionally framed as a celebration—because missions is, at its heart, the joyful advance of the gospel.

From Thursday through to Sunday, the church turns its attention especially to the Great Commission, considering the spread of the gospel beyond its immediate context. Missionary presentations, keynote preaching, and concentrated prayer remind the congregation that Christ’s final command remains the church’s ongoing responsibility, issues by Jesus himself: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising 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” (Matthew 28:19–20). That commission is not optional. It defines the church’s mission.

The language of “missional” can sometimes be unclear or misused. Yet at its core, the concept is simple: The church exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

The church does not merely send missionaries; it is a missionary people. God saves individuals into a local church, where they grow in spiritual maturity, are strengthened in doctrine and character, and participate in disciple-making. From that healthy church life, some are sent out to reproduce elsewhere what they have been part of at home.

Missionaries, therefore, are not spiritual freelancers. They are faithful members of a local church who are sent out to make disciples with a view to planting or strengthening local churches. This pattern reflects what we see in passages such as Acts 1:8 and Acts 13, where the church at Antioch sends out Paul and Barnabas.

The mission remains consistent: preach the gospel, see converts baptised, and establish them within biblically ordered local churches.

At its simplest, missions is disciple-making that results in church planting and church strengthening.

Jesus’ command is not merely to make converts, but to make disciples—baptised learners who are formed into gathered churches. Missions is therefore neither detached humanitarian effort nor isolated evangelistic campaigns. It is the intentional, church-centred expansion of Christ’s kingdom.

Some argue that “missions” applies only to cross-cultural work. While cross-cultural ministry is vital and historically associated with the term missionary, the biblical category is broader. A church planter sent to another city within the same culture is still functioning under the Great Commission. The terminology may vary, but the work remains the same: sent ones making disciples.

If someone expresses a desire to serve as a missionary, the church does not rush to commission them. Instead, careful evaluation takes place.

Three key markers are essential.

First, there is required character. The individual must meet the moral and spiritual qualifications outlined in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. While not necessarily serving as an elder, they must be elder-qualified in character.

Second, the person must have necessary competence. They must demonstrate the ability to teach Scripture and make disciples. If they are not faithfully discipling others at home, there is little reason to assume they will do so abroad.

Third, appropriate commendation is necessary. The church must recognise and affirm God’s work in their life. There must be corporate confidence that this individual can faithfully reproduce healthy church life elsewhere.

There is also what many describe as an “inward call”—a sense of compulsion or conviction. Yet that inward desire must be tested and confirmed by outward evidence within the local church.

For missionaries supported from outside the congregation, similar principles apply. Is their sending church doctrinally aligned? Is there accountability? Is there a genuine commendation from church leadership? Without local church accountability, support is not given.

The local church holds primary responsibility for disciple-making. Historically, parachurch ministries were intended to come alongside the church (the term “para” meaning alongside), assisting in specific tasks.

Such ministries can be a great blessing when they genuinely serve the church without supplanting its authority. However, problems arise when organisations function independently of or above the church, rather than under its accountability. Healthy ministry keeps the local church central.

Each year, during the World Outreach Celebration, members of Brackenhurst Baptist Church are invited to make a “faith promise” commitment. This is a commitment to give, above regular tithes and offerings, specifically towards missions.

It is called a faith promise because it requires trust—trusting God to provide as believers give sacrificially. The church then structures its missions budget based on these commitments, enabling ongoing support of missionaries and church planters.

Over the years, this approach has enabled substantial investment into gospel work—from monthly missionary support to once-off gifts for vehicles, buildings, or ministry setup costs. The consistent principle remains relational partnership, not detached financial transactions.

Missions support is not merely about transferring funds. It is about partnership.

Communication through reports, personal visits, meals, prayer updates, and congregational intercession keeps the relationship alive. In pastoral prayers, supported workers are regularly remembered before the Lord. Small groups often “adopt” particular missionaries for focused prayer and contact.

This reflects the relational pattern seen in the New Testament. As the apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Rome, “That is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine” (Romans 1:12). Missionaries need encouragement. Churches need the joy of partnership. Both are strengthened through active, intentional relationship.

Ultimately, driving a healthy missions vision requires consistent leadership emphasis. The Great Commission must remain before the congregation. Christ’s final command must remain of first importance. The church must continually hear and heed his words: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8)

Sacrificial giving, fervent prayer, careful sending, and faithful partnership all flow from obedience to that mandate. And the blessing is profound. Over decades, faithful churches have seen the Lord use their resources to plant churches, strengthen pastors, and proclaim the gospel across nations. It keeps the church outward-looking, dependent on God, and joyfully engaged in eternal work.

Missions is not an optional department of church life. It is the church living in obedience to her King.