Mission Minded: Multiply

"Then Jesus came near and said to them, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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 everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'"

- Matthew 28:18-20 (HCSB)

It was pointed out to me that there is no Matthew 28:21. The Great Commission is a straight forward command to go and make disciples, nothing more and nothing less. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, it is our assignment to make other disciples. The two distinctive sides of Jesus' ministry is growing closer to his father and pouring into his disciples and the people around him (through going, baptizing, and teaching). We can grow closer to God all day going to church, reading our Bibles, and praying in our quiet times, but that's only fulfilling half of Jesus' example. We cannot be poured into any more if we are not pouring out to begin with. A disciple is a disciple maker.

  

Taking it back to grade school, lets look at the power of multiplication. If a great preacher were to lead 3,000 people to Christ in a nightly evangelism gathering, it would take 6,388 years to see 7 billion people saved, which is about the population of the world. If a disciple maker were to make one disciple a year and send him to do the same thing (essentially doubling each year), it would take 33 years to see 7 billion disciples made. If Jesus knew what he was doing in his time on earth, than following his example of multiplication is likely the best choice.

"God made you the way you are; He has provided and will continue to provide you with everything you need to accomplish the task. Jesus commands you to look at the people around you and start making them into disciples. Obviously, only God can change people's hearts and make them want to become followers. We just have to be obedient in making the effort to teach them, even though we still have plenty to learn ourselves."

- Francis Chan, Multiply

Our ministry at the parks throughout Anchorage doesn't end at the "ABC's of Salvation." We are passing these Bible stories from one generation to another so that they can make a new generation of discipleship makers. In Acts 1:8, Jesus tells us to "be [his] witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Therefore, in order to impact all corners of the world, I must have a world perspective in discipleship making, and that is through multiplication.  

"You are the light of the world."

This is our second summer to be out hosting the lunch program at Arctic-Benson Park. At the beginning of last summer, the park was overrun with homeless (street) people and it was dirty, dark, and dangerous for children to be at. Throughout the summer, we made it out goal to make the park a safe and enjoyable place for the children to get out and play during the summer; at the end of the summer, we had many people from the surrounding community tell us that they saw in us "a light" that made the park a safer place for the children. That "light" is the love of Christ working though us in Anchorage.

Returning to Arctic-Benson Park this summer has been very encoraging. We have many kids returning from last summer and some new kids, which is great! But the most encouraging thing to see this summer is the continued impact on the community as a whole from last summer. We see so many more people come through the park and much fewer street people come through. Seeing God work in the lives of the kids is awesome, but also getting to see Christ's love changing the community around the park is so encouraging!

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

-Matthew 5:14-16

God has been revealing to me that the harvest is plentiful and in huge need of workers in the city of Anchorage and to the ends of Alaska. We are lights to the darkness of Alaska and the light that we shine is the love of that Jesus Christ shows us.

Mission Minded: Love

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

- 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

The great commission tells us to "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 [Jesus has commanded us]" (Matt. 28:19-20). If we are to go forward doing as Jesus once did we must imitate all that Jesus did in his ministry. Throughout the his ministry, we see the importance of love (Matt. 5:43-48, 18:10-14, 22:36-40); we also see the importance of love in Paul's letters (1 Cor. 13, Col. 3:12-17). Therefore, to imitate the examples of ministry that we've been given, we must put love first.

I discovered last summer, through the simple act of handing out a free meal to a child, how powerful small acts of Christ-like love can be. Taking that idea home, I made it a point to display Christ's love in every action of my life. If Christ's love is strong enough to save me from certain death and bring me to life, than it is strong enough to impact any life and any circumstance.

This summer, no matter where you are, make it a point to display Christ's love and "let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 5:16). 

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

- 1 Corinthians 13:13