Matthew 28: 18-20
“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
This is one of the most commonly known verses when referring to missions or sending out missionaries. Recently the Lord has allowed me to see this scripture in a new light, along with how I view the world according to this verse, and I would love to invite you into it.
Since being in Guatemala, specifically working with Hope Ministries, I have seen how we have limited this verse in our world. This call to go is not just for Americans to go out into the nations. This is for everyone who names Jesus as Lord and chooses to be his slave, to go out into the nations. This is where we have unintentionally limited the call Jesus put on his disciples.
Guatemala is a nation that isn’t just receiving missionaries but raising up and sending Guatemalans out as well.
- My ministry held a 3 day conference for the sole purpose to disciple, encourage, and to activate Guatemalans to go out.
- Adventures in Missions also has a program called Hineni. It is for Guatemalans who feel called to missions. A chance for them to be raised up, consistently discipled, and then go out and serve in other nations.
These are only two ways that this country is actively raising up and sending out Guatemalans to preach the gospel. What if this was our goal? What if we not only focused on trying to turn people to Christ but in the process, disciple them to become a missionary as well?
We have the power to not keep what the Lord called us into for just ourselves, but we get to invite people to walk it out alongside of us.
This is what Jesus called us into, making disciples of ALL nations, but not just from the US. For me I don’t think I clearly understood what “making disciples of all nations” actually meant. If you haven’t caught on yet, it’s literally just sharing all about who Jesus is and what he is about, AND calling them into a life of serving him by going out in the nations.
So our “Go” shouldn’t just be to share the gospel, but to disciple and equip people from the nations to desire to “Go” as well.
Thank you Guate and Hope ministries for showing me what it looks like to actually live this verse out.
