Jesus gave the church the Great Commission, and told us to make disciples of all nations, and to baptize them and teach them all that he has commanded. The Great Commission should relentlessly compel the church to be broken for the lost. We should use every resource at our disposal to obey what Jesus told us to do.

By God’s grace, the mission has not stopped in the midst of a global pandemic, but every facet of it has been affected in some measure. One thing I have been reminded of, due to the disruption and difficulty of travel, is the absolute necessity of intentionality in local ministry and mission. Our church has significant local partnerships which have been developed over time. We highly value these, because we realize this is where God has placed us to serve others with the love of Jesus. Moving forward we want to increase our impact even more. While at the same time we want to be on mission sharing the gospel, planting churches, and meeting needs in our state, in North America, and to the ends of the earth.

I have been asked a recurring question by well-meaning Christians from time to time through the years: “Why do we do so much around the world, when there are so many needs here in our own backyard?” The answer is, because God has not given us the luxury of choosing which is more important. The gospel is for all people, everywhere. With this in mind we are to serve locally and reach globally until Jesus returns!