The Great Commission

The Great Commission

19 July, 2026

Thesis: The mission of the church is to make disciples, not merely to collect metrics or measure success by attendance numbers, but rather to multiply disciples and see the glory of Christ among all nations, guided by the authority and power of the risen King Jesus.

Summary: The preacher emphasizes the importance of being a mission-minded church, grounded in Jesus' authority and power. The core value is to make disciples, which involves going, baptizing, and teaching. The mission is not limited to one's community or denomination but extends to all nations, with every believer playing a role in making disciples and multiplying them. The preacher encourages the congregation to measure their faithfulness by how many disciples they are making, rather than attendance numbers or social media presence. They also emphasize the importance of obedience to Jesus' command, sacrificial giving, ongoing discipleship, and maturity. Ultimately, the goal is to see the glory of Christ among nations, with every person from every tribe and language worshiping Jesus.

Sermon

In order for us to be a church on mission, we first need to understand what that mission is, right? Thankfully, the Bible gives us clear guidelines concerning this mission, and I like to think of the mission of the church as being the Great Commission.

Look in Matthew 28, beginning in verse 18:

And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, 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.

And notice this promise:

Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

What a precious passage of Scripture. The mission of the church is to make, mark, and mature disciples. In a nutshell, that is the mission of the church, and everything we do is toward that end.

But notice that before Christ gives His disciples the mission, He grounds this mission in His authority. How much authority is given to Christ? All authority—all authority in heaven and on earth. He is the name above every name, in this age and in the age to come. This is not a suggestion; this is a commandment from the risen King who reigns eternally. Therefore, it is backed by His authority, and it is also backed by His power. He gives us His authority, and He gives us His ability.

Notice also the grammar, because the way the grammar is structured really shapes the way we practice our theology. In the Greek, there is one command, one imperative verb, and that is to make disciples. That is the mission: to make disciples. All the rest are participles—going, baptizing, and teaching. That is how we make disciples. So it is critical for us to understand the mission and how that mission is carried out.

Here at Sojourn, our mission is to make disciples. It is not simply to fill seats, grow a budget, or have a plethora of programs. It is to make disciples. If we are making disciples, it does not matter how large we become or how small we remain, as long as we are faithful to the mission of multiplying disciples.

Now, what is a disciple? A disciple simply means a learner. It is someone who learns. It is someone who follows Jesus, thinks like Him, talks like Him, acts like Him, and lives like Him. We are interested in the imago Dei, right? We want image bearers, not only in our county but throughout the nations. We want people to passionately follow Jesus. We want them to learn of Him.

How do we do that? How is this mission carried out? Let us look at the three participles Jesus gives us.

Number one: in our going, we make disciples. It can be read as, “As you go.” In your normal rhythm of life—whether you are crossing a street, going to work, or having dinner around the family table—in all of your going, you are making disciples. Sometimes this entails crossing an ocean as a missionary. Sometimes it entails crossing the street to share the gospel with a neighbor. Wherever you go, you are to take the gospel with you and make disciples.

So, number one, we go. Here at Sojourn, we do not want to adopt the mindset that we sit here and wait for people to come to us. That is not the command. It is not that we are so awesome that everybody wants to come and see what is going on. The mission is to go to them. Go to them, because the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. So pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers.

Number two, we baptize. By baptizing, we mark disciples. We make disciples by going with the gospel, and we mark disciples by baptizing them, particularly in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Baptism is the God-ordained sign that publicly identifies a person with the triune God and with His covenant people. It is going on record and saying, “I belong to Christ. My old life is dead and buried. I have been raised to walk in newness of life.”

Here at Sojourn, baptism means something. Membership means something. Community, accountability, and responsibility to one another mean something. We are not interested in just having a row full of names. We want a community of disciples where we actively, aggressively, and passionately pursue Jesus together.

Number three is teaching. Through teaching, we mature disciples. Acts 2:42 gives us a snapshot of what life looked like for the early believers. It says that they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching—the teaching of the Word—to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.

And guess where they had their church services? In people’s homes. There were no big cathedrals, no light shows, and no superstar preachers. No, there were just believers gathering together and worshiping the risen Savior. As they did that, they learned, and as they learned, they became mature believers.

Here at Sojourn, we want to teach you. Blake and I make it our ambition to love you, to pour ourselves out for you, to shepherd you well, to feed you, and to lead you as a shepherd does his sheep.

Notice the scope of the mission. To whom are we to make disciples? Our community? People who think like us, dress like us, or talk like us? No, it is all nations. Panta ethne, all people groups.

Now, that kind of goes against our natural instinct, does it not? They do not quite fit in with my group, so should I invite them to church? Should I bring them? Yes, you should—no matter how different they are from us.

Another question is: Who bears this mission? Was this just a commission for the disciples? I would ask this question: Who is a disciple? Is it not every believer? So is this mission not for every single believer alive? It is not just for the original disciples, the apostles, the pastors, or the professionals. No. This mission is for every single believer.

Every single believer is a disciple and should be being discipled while, at the same time, making disciples. At any given time in our lives, we should be being discipled by someone, and we should also be discipling someone else—being poured into and pouring into someone else.

What are some of the metrics that we may use to measure our faithfulness to the gospel? How much money did we collect in the offering today? How many people have seen our brand on social media? This is where, oftentimes, even well-meaning churches drift. They have good intentions, but they begin to measure success by how many people they had in attendance, how much money they collected in the offering that day, or how many people have seen their brand on social media. That is not the mission, is it?

It would do us well to look through the book of Acts. What we see in the book of Acts is multiplication, not simply addition. The Word multiplies, and as the Word increases, disciples begin to multiply. So the question is not how many decisions for Christ have been made or how many people came to the altar—as much as I despise that term. The question is: How many disciples are we making, and are they being conformed to the image of Christ? It is multiplication.

Secondly, we see the early church not merely gathering but also sending. They gather, they become equipped, and then they send their best out to the community and to the nations. Here at Sojourn, eventually we want to start sending people out.

By the way, there is nothing in Scripture that says you have to be a church of a certain size in order to start planting other churches. That is ridiculous. How do we plant a church? We equip people and send them out with the gospel. That is how it happens.

Thirdly, we see sacrificial giving. People give to missions and support missionaries. They give of their time, talents, and treasures to support the mission. Then we see ongoing discipleship and maturity. We are not simply here to celebrate; we are here to support the mission.

We make a commitment to God and to Jesus to devote ourselves to the Great Commission, rather than to the many jobs we do that seem good but are actually a distraction from the one main thing. Here at Sojourn, we want to keep the main thing the main thing. We want to be a church living on mission.

Notice, lastly, the promise. Jesus first begins with His authority, and then He ends with His assurance. What is that assurance?

Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Loved ones, we are never sent on mission alone. We are filled with the Holy Spirit. We have the authority of the risen, reigning King. He is with us as we labor to make disciples.

To what end are we sent? What are we doing this for? Firstly, it is in obedience to our King, but ultimately, we are about seeing the glory of Christ among the nations. We want to see Revelation 5:9 come to pass. In that Scripture, it tells us that around His throne there will be people from every tribe, language, and nation who have been ransomed by His blood.

We want to see that, and we at Sojourn want to be part of that global mission. We want to see the last, the lost, and the least. We want to see Latinos, whites, and all different people from all different nations worshiping Jesus.

That is why, Sojourn, we want to be a mission-minded church. We make, we mark, and we mature. We have His authority, and we have His assurance. We just need to step out in obedience and live on mission.

So join me now for a prayer of supplication.

Father, we realize that this mission is called great for a reason, Lord. It is the Great Commission, and we realize, Lord, that in ourselves we cannot do this. Lord, we are wholly dependent upon the power of the Spirit living in us, working through us, and speaking through us.

Lord, we thank You that we have the authority of the King, and with His authority comes His power. You have never sent us on mission alone. We have the Holy Spirit, and we have our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Grant us success as we go, as we baptize, and as we teach to make disciples.

Lord, we pray for our community. We pray, Lord, for other men who are faithfully standing behind the pulpit for the kingdom of God, boldly and faithfully standing before You. Father, may Your name be holy; blessed shall be Your name. This morning, Lord, we pray that You would bless them. May the Word go forth; may disciples be made.

Father, we pray for our missionaries throughout the land, Lord, and for the ones we support in Mexico—for Eliseo and Ashley and all of their teams in some eight villages. Lord, we pray that the gospel would advance. We pray, Lord, for open hearts and open minds.

Lord, unless You open people’s eyes, we are blind; unless You open our ears, we are deaf; unless the gospel penetrates our hearts, our hearts remain cold and dead and lifeless. Lord, we pray: Bless their work.

We are in great need of Your supply. We are so needy, but, Lord, You are so able and so willing to grant Your people the power to live on mission.

Lord, we pray for those who have needs in our communities. Lord, there are so many people sick and so many people suffering. We pray that You would meet their needs.

We pray, Lord, for every person gathered here, that we would live on mission as we go to work tomorrow and as we spend time with our families. Lord, let discipleship begin in our homes, and let us spread the gospel in our schools and in our workplaces. Lord, let us be salt and light.

Lord, we pray Your will would be done in the remainder of this service. Lord, would You bless my brother Blake as he brings the sermon? Anoint him, bless him, and speak through him, Lord, and open our hearts.

As we prepare, Lord, to sing this song, See the Destined Day Arise, let us sing with gratitude in our hearts to our risen King.

In Jesus’ name, amen.