Each individual Christian has a key part to play in taking the gospel to the spiritually darkest places in the world. Yet God did not design the Great Commission to be fulfilled by individuals acting alone. The Great Commission will be fulfilled by the global Church, the Body of believers working together. 

One man’s heart to make disciples of all nations led him to mobilize members of his church. Read his story below.

Open Doors to Share the Gospel

It all started with someone saying to me, “I know someone who is going to … for a mission trip. If we were ever able to go there, I’d love to go!” This place is a closed country not far from our borders. As a missions pastor, I was looking for doors that God might open for our congregation to share the gospel.

After a few phone calls, I was put in touch with someone at East-West who was leading the short-term mission efforts into this closed country. A fellow pastor and myself decided to see what it was like and joined a short-term team in February of that year. What we witnessed and played a part in was incredible. We had an opportunity to work with local house churches to reach the lost in their neighborhoods with the good news of Jesus Christ.

To my amazement, one woman we visited had never heard of the name Jesus. Given the history of the Roman Catholic church in this country, I made a false assumption that everyone had at least heard the name of Jesus. This assumption quickly caused me to back up and start with the beginning of the story—Genesis. After some time, I shared that Jesus is offering this wonderful gift to her if she wanted it. With tears in her eyes, she couldn’t say, “Yes!” fast enough! I prayed with this wonderful daughter of God as she began her new life following and trusting in Jesus.

Following the Call

In this one community, our team shared the gospel with nearly 400 people, most of whom placed their faith in Jesus! When I returned home, we met with the lead ministry team and shared this incredible news and the stories we had heard. I shared with the team that there is a compelling opportunity here. Like it says in Luke 10:2, ‘“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”’ I believe God was swinging wide open a door for our church to walk through to take the gospel to the unreached.

Since that time, God did even more in that he called me to be a part of the East-West staff in reaching the unreached. My home church has been to Latin America, Europe, and South Asia regularly, taking the gospel to the people who have not heard the name of Jesus. For me, it all started with the words, “I know someone who is going to … .” That sentence started me on a journey of listening to God and leading me to where I am today.

Mobilizing the Church

Whether you stand in the pulpit or sit in the pews, any believer can advocate for the mobilization of the Church in missions. The unreached around the world are waiting for harvest workers to take the gospel to them.

You can further explore whether God is calling you to the nations through a free resource from East-West.