The Great Commission
The Great Commission is found in Matthew 28:18-20, where Jesus instructs his disciples to make followers of Him from all nations. It is a command and is still relevant for all Christians, everywhere. In Acts 1:8, just before Jesus’ ascension into heaven, he tells his disciples that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them and he then gives the scope of the mission being from their locality and right to the ends of the earth. As we study that scripture, the word ‘and’ is specifically relevant, meaning that their influence would be local and global.
As Christians, this command to share the good news of Jesus should be to our family, workplace and locality as well as to the ends of the earth. Joshuaproject.net tells us that 42% of the world is still unreached with the gospel. With the advancement of the internet and technology, how could this be? Yet, there are significant parts of the world where there are no gospel-preaching churches in people’s mother tongue and where to be a Christian is illegal and followers of Christ could end up in prison, or worse. I would encourage you to look at this website as it gives an unreached group of the day to pray for. Even if you are called to the Berkshire area, praying for the unreached people groups in the world increases your global spiritual footprint and involves you directly in this global command.
As a couple, we believe that Christians need equipping on their global mandate and this is why we set up Your Mission (our charity). We wanted to inform Christians of the global need for the gospel to be spread and encourage believers from everywhere to take the Great Commission to heart. We set up Your Mission in 2013 and have travelled to various nations around the world as well as countless churches within the UK. Together, we have led mission teams into Europe and seen great fruit in people’s lives who have taken part in such trips. As well as this, we have led a mission academy in London.
As well as his full-time chaplaincy role, Edward is involved in lecturing on church history online to Malaysian students. Malaysia contains unreached people groups and to train and equip those on the front lines is also on our hearts. This year, Rachel travelled to Serbia to speak at a women’s conference and in the past we have helped to partner in pioneering schools ministry in central Serbia. Our passion is to see people trained to reach the world. We still encounter those with a specific call to a nation or people group and we love to spend time with such people, encouraging them and signposting them to good organisations they can partner with. Edward also has a heart for church pastors serving in challenging contexts around the world, and we are often used by the Lord to encourage in such situations.
Please do have a look at our website www.yourmission.org.uk and please do get in contact with us if you have any questions or would like to talk about missions further.
This blog was written by Rachel and Edward Issitt. They are members of the Kerith Windsor Community.
