THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH 

The Church has a single mission.  Before He departed our Leader gave one mandate – “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations[1] baptizing 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.” (Matt. 28:19-20)  We talk about missions because the outworking of this mandate looks different for each of us.  But in truth, the mission of the Church is one.  And whether we stay and send – laboring for the kingdom where we presently are – or whether we go, our devotion needs to be toward the advancement of this goal.  And regardless of our role, all of us need to value the task of expanding Jesus’ Church among the nations and peoples yet unreached and unengaged by the gospel.  How could we not be?  This is the will of our King, His essential program throughout the earth, and its accomplishment will usher His return to us (Matt. 24:14)[2].  Added to this, countless thousands of souls are being swallowed up into Christ-less graves every day, never having heard His Name. 

When Jesus was on earth, He spoke of His mission among humanity in this way, “I have bread to eat that you do not know about… My bread is to do the will of Him Who sent me and to accomplish His work.  Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.” (John 4:32-35) The present estimate is that over 6000 ethno-linguistic people groups are still considered unreached – without a sustaining and flourishing fellowship of believers in Christ.  Of greater importance still, is the fact that 1190 of these remain completely unengaged.[3]  The gospel has never been heard in these places that we’re aware of and there isn’t one known believer living in their midst.  We can consider this task – reaching every remaining people group – as the central, essential task of our generation. Many missions leaders agree.  And I believe that, by the grace of God, the fulfillment of this task and of Jesus’ commission can realistically be expected and hoped for in our generation.  We possess more resources and manpower than any other generation in history, along with incredible specificity about the breadth of the task that remains. “If we do not waver in our convictions or take our focus off the essential missionary task, we can reasonably hope to see the body of Christ established and growing within the language and social structure of every people group on earth in our lifetime.”[4] This, I believe, is the bread the Father has set before us. 

The scope of this central missionary task is becoming increasingly clearer.  Roughly 85% of all unreached people groups are located in the 10/40 window (The 10/40 Window is the rectangular area of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia approximately between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude). Roughly 50% of the total population in unreached regions lives in Muslim lands in the greater Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia. The other 50% are mostly Hindu, Buddhist, ethnic, or non-religious peoples, located predominantly in places like India, China, and other parts of Africa (though not exclusively).  Many doors are open for the gospel to penetrate these regions. But the sad and sobering reality is that less than 10% of the missionary labor force is actually laboring among these “unreached” peoples.[5] The vast majority of our manpower are in places that already have established and expanding indigenous churches.  That fact, I believe, should unsettle us and change dramatically.  While there is a need for regular workers in every land – a need that we shouldn’t underemphasize – the essential need that is pressing upon us is for a flood of frontier missionaries to exalt the worth of Christ where it’s never been heard or felt or known (See the apostle Paul’s missionary ambition in Rom. 15:20; 2 Cor. 10:15-16).  With the Lord’s command resounding in our ears (I.e. “Go… ALL NATIONS”) and our multiplying manpower and resources, let us be guided by Godly perspective. The final battleground of God’s redemptive work among humanity is becoming more and more defined. And the unplowed fields are white for harvest.

Though statistics like the ones in this article are greatly beneficial, there is a vast limitation upon them and precaution in using them as well.  We live in a lost, broken, and sin scorched world.  And it would be impossible to summarize the depth and gravity of its present “lost-ness” or its present need, with mere words.  The labor yet to be done – for the fame of His Name among the nations – is an incredibly great task.  But, in closing, consider the hope, courage, and finality the Lord inserted into our commission, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore… I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  The outcome of Christ’s mission has already been assured – its end from the beginning.  He will have a remnant from every tribe and tongue, and the gates of hell will not prevail against the establishment of His global, diverse, multi-ethnic Church.  He’s promised all power and authority in heaven and earth to see it established. We don’t need to question His favor or our success, in spite of the manifold obstacles or our extraordinary weaknesses. In the words of Samuel Zwemer, one of the great missionaries of the 20^th century, “The genius of spiritual conquest is the consciousness that God is commanding the battalions, that the issue is not uncertain… the goal is God’s eternal glory.”[6] Our God is the only Sovereign, possessing all dominion and authority.  And the success of His mission has already been declared.  In the age to come, there will be a great multitude of the redeemed “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white…” (Rev. 7:9 cf. 5:9-10)

Let our lives, then, be laid on this altar and mastered by this one overarching ambition – the exaltation of Christ’s Name among all nations, peoples, and languages. “Let the peoples praise you, O God; Let all the peoples praise you!  Let the nations be glad and sing for joy” (Ps. 67:3-4)!