By Steve Richardson (summary by Jeffrey Bush)
- It’s often thought Jesus gave the Great Commission at the end of His life, almost like
an afterthought right before He left. This is not the case. The Great Commission was
the plan of God before Jesus was born in a manger. - Many Christians are not sure how crucial the Great Commission really is.
- Reaching the nations is not just one of the ways to please God.
- The Great Commission is the central of God’s message, and the primary
responsibility of His church. - You’re not responsible to finish the Great Commission, but you are responsible to be
faithful to the Great Commission. - Drifting from missions is a great threat to both the Christian individual and the
church. - A difficulty is when missionaries start churches in other countries without teaching
them missionary DNA. In other words, they teach how to be a witness in their
community, but not the need for sending missionaries. - The church is not short on missionaries because they are too expensive, but
because we have not given missions proper priority in our decision-making and
finances. - If we stop sending missionaries, we become disconnected from the work.
- We will not all be missionaries, but we should all have a missions mindset.
- There’s a healthy tension we should feel to get the Gospel to the nations. If you do
not feel the tension, consider whether or not you’ve lost the vision for your
community and the nations. - Discipleship is a process, not an event.
- Every pastor and staff member should take an international missions trip at least
every other year. Your congregation is not the field. The field is the world. Your
congregating contains a force given by God to help reach the world.