Don Dent is an Emeritus IMB missionary and Senior Professor of Missions at Gateway Seminary. He studied at Mississippi College, GGBTS with Baker James Cauthen, and Malaysia Baptist Theo. Seminary where he earned the Doctor of Missiology with Mark Terry. His daughter, Chesed, and son, Rob, both work to extend missions to the nations. He is the author of The Ongoing Role of Apostles in Missions and the recently published Finding Direction to Redeem the Nations. Don loves reading non-fiction, hunting, and since moving in 2023 to MS from CA is looking for an alternative to kayak shark fishing in the Pacific.
Not long ago I met a couple at a church mission event who were raising support for their ministry in Latin America. After several short-term trips, they had felt led to leave everything a decade before and go as missionaries. I immediately admired their commitment and courage. However, as I talked to them that weekend it became obvious they had not learned Spanish. The only success story they kept retelling was getting a volunteer team to come and paint a church building. So much well-intentioned sacrifice for so little accomplishment; they were not even attempting to fulfill the Great Commission. They seemed to have very little mission direction . . .
This experience is both tragic and ironic because of the word “mission.” Mission means a clearly stated objective in military, business, political, and educational circles. It comes from a Latin word originally used to describe the clearly defined purpose God sent Jesus to accomplish and then for the clearly stated task Jesus sent his disciples to accomplish. In contrast, today mission can mean almost anything. Should not Christian missions clearly reflect the clearly stated task Jesus assigned us?
Although God’s global purpose is found from Genesis to Revelation, the task Jesus assigned us is the clearest description of our part in it. Although they express it differently, all five Great Commission statements describe the same task. Matt 28:18-20 is not only the best known, but it is also the fourth statement in Matthew’s Gospel that Jesus gave his followers about that task. Through most of their time with Jesus the disciples had no idea that his, and their, work was for all the nations. In fact, the phrase panta ta ethne (all the nations) is how Jesus began to prepare them for this task beginning in Matt 24-25 and then culminating in the last verses of the Gospel. Taken together this is the most expanded description of mission we have and it is not by accident that it begins with a recognition of God’s purpose for all the ethnic peoples on earth. Missions begins with acknowledgment that God’s concern, and our task, is to touch the whole world.
1. Matt 24:9 – “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death and you will be hated by all the nations because of me.”
Jesus introduced them to the task by emphasizing the risks, sacrifice, and cost involved. Obviously, Jesus was not aware of our cultural aversion to risk, nor to psychology-based marketing. As he did when calling men to follow him, he emphasized this was not easy. He could have promised they would get to travel, stay in four-star hotels, and play on beautiful beaches, but Jesus did not. When the gospel enters into a new people, it always elicits a negative, as well as positive, response because it is a revolution. The transformation that occurs when people believe frightens those who do not and causes a reaction from an active enemy. We should remember that mission is not about our health, happiness, comfort, or guaranteed safety. It is for the glory of our Lord and for all the nations.
2. Matt 24:14 – “And this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
Now we know why the nations will hate the disciples because of Jesus. His story, his Good News, will declare his reign over the whole earth. This message is not primarily for meetings among Christians, it is to be declared to the whole world, including the approximately 12,000 ethnic groups. Every people group and every person should hear what Christ has done for them! For those uneducated country boys from the backside of Galilee, this must have been a shock. The enormity of it shocks us even today, but this is the kernel, the heart of our task assigned by Jesus. Plans and activities that do not directly share the gospel or directly assist those who are sharing, is not Christian missions.
3. Matt 25:31-33 – “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all his angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.”
Jesus continues a theme he began in 24:30-31 about the coming judgment of the whole world. All the nations, and all people will be judged by Jesus on the basis of this global mission. Jesus the crucified suffering servant will return as victorious Lord and judge. Our mission is the most important human activity on earth because it changes eternal destinies of nations, families, and individuals. These verses challenge his disciples to be faithful and warn the nations to listen to the message they bring.
4. Matt 28:18-20 – “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Our task is to make disciples, not just momentary converts. This involves taking the initiative and going to the nations, evangelizing them, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey their new Lord. Our contemporary usage of discipleship is not what Jesus is talking about here, because there were no nominal Christians or children of believing parents. Making a disciple begins with sharing the gospel that includes a clear explanation of following Jesus. In the New Testament, these disciples were always gathered into churches. In order to accomplish the mission of Jesus, this process must take place in every people group on earth. This enormous task is only possible through the presence and power of Jesus. Mission activity that depends on our resources and strengths will not accomplish the task Jesus have given us.
Christian missions, therefore, is:
- Pushed by God’s concern for all nations and people on earth
- Costly, risky, and demands sacrifice
- Focused on proclaiming Jesus to all the world
- Motivated by the reality that the fate of each nation and person depends on it
- Results in disciples who believe, confess, and obey their Lord
- Dependent not on our resources, but on Christ’s presence and power
Huge resources in personnel, finances, time, and skills are spent on “mission” that will not accomplish the clearly defined task given by Jesus. Isn’t it time to evaluate and realign our mission to be His mission? The nations are still waiting on us to find direction.