The audacity inherent in the email attracted my interest. A church in central Nebraska invited me to speak at their upcoming worldwide outreach conference. What gave the leadership and congregation the impetus to hold a weekend to promote their global agenda? What makes their world focus more than just wishful thinking?
Quite simply, the words of Jesus, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Dawn and I traveled to Hasting, NE, last weekend to join the members of the Berean Bible Church to talk missions. I spoke five times, at seminars and a banquet and the Sunday sermon. It was fun and inspiring to spend time with a group of people committed to fulfilling these words of Jesus.
It’s fascinating to think that when Jesus instructed his disciples to “go to the ends of the earth,” central Nebraska qualified as the very end. For centuries men and women have taken those words seriously. As a result, this group of Jesus’ disciples, on the other side of the planet, are planning and giving and sending people towards making disciples of all nations. Audacious, yes, but not unprecedented. Jesus handed his commission to a small group of people and look what happened.
We change the world one person at a time. Who are you hoping to change?
