I never had anything against missions. I simply believed missions were for a certain kind of Christian, preferably someone more spiritual, adventurous, and comfortable living far away from everything familiar. I understood that Jesus wanted the gospel taken throughout the world, but I never considered that command personally binding upon me.
That changed during the summer after my freshman year of college. I joined a three-month ministry program that included one month of discipleship training, one month overseas, and one month serving at youth camps. I was most excited about the first and third months, so I treated the overseas portion as something spiritual to endure between the parts I really wanted to experience.
Then I went to Japan.
One night, our team worshiped with Japanese believers at a church in Tokyo. We sang the same song in two different languages, and for the first time, I understood something of John’s vision of a multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language standing before the throne of God (Revelation 7:9).
Jesus had always been the Savior of the world, but that night my understanding of His Kingdom became much larger. I began to see that God was doing far more than what I had experienced in my church, my town, or my country. That trip did not merely give me interesting stories to tell. It changed the direction of my life.
The Great Commission Is Not Optional
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He told His disciples that all authority in heaven and on earth belonged to Him. On the basis of that authority, He commanded them to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything He had commanded (Matthew 28:18-20).
The Great Commission is not a suggestion to be considered but a command to be obeyed.
Jesus did not reserve this assignment for a small group of unusually committed Christians. Every follower of Jesus has been entrusted with the responsibility to make Him known. We may not all move permanently to another country, but none of us can remove ourselves from the mission.
We know Jesus so that we can make Him known.
Our goal is not merely to collect converts or celebrate decisions. Jesus commanded us to make disciples who are baptized into the church, taught His Word, and trained to obey Him. The mission includes proclaiming the gospel, but it also requires helping people follow Christ for the rest of their lives.
Excuses Reveal Our Priorities
Most excuses for avoiding missions fall into a few basic categories. We worry about discomfort, safety, unfamiliar food, missing family, limited time, inadequate finances, insufficient knowledge, or regrettable failures from our past. Some insist that they have never received a personal calling to missions.
Many of those concerns are understandable, but none of them can overturn a command Jesus has already given.
You may not know everything in the Bible, but you know enough to tell someone what Jesus has done for you. You may not have all the money you need, but God can provide through the generosity of others or through your own sacrifice. You may carry regrets from your past, but the gospel is the story of how Jesus rescues undeserving people and uses them for His glory.
The deeper issue is often not our circumstances but our commitment. We enjoy the comfort Christ provides while resisting the mission He commands. We want Jesus to fit within the plans we have already made rather than allowing Him to determine where we go and how we live.
Our calling is not to make our lives comfortable. Our calling is to make disciples of all nations.
Obedience Often Produces Compassion
Some people hesitate to go because they do not feel a burden for the nations. I understand that struggle because I once felt the same way. I waited for compassion to appear before I obeyed, but God changed my heart through obedience.
I went because Jesus had commanded His followers to go. Once I arrived, I saw people differently. I learned their names, listened to their stories, and witnessed the spiritual darkness in which many of them lived. God gave me a burden after I placed myself near the people who needed the gospel.
Sometimes we wait to feel something before we obey, but obedience often creates the very compassion we thought we needed beforehand.
College offers an unusual season of freedom. You may have fewer financial responsibilities, greater flexibility in the summer, and fewer people depending upon you than you will later in life. That does not mean missions will become impossible after graduation, but it does mean you should consider whether God has given you a unique opportunity right now.
Begin by talking with your church or a trusted ministry about opportunities to serve. Pray through the available options, ask God to direct you, and be willing to go somewhere that stretches you beyond what is familiar.
Someone Is Still Waiting to Hear
While serving at a university in Japan, our team hosted English clubs for students who wanted to practice speaking with Americans. We sang songs, played games, discussed cultural differences, and tried to build relationships. One day, we performed a simple drama illustrating humanity’s rebellion and Christ’s sacrificial love.
Afterward, we divided into small groups to discuss what the students had seen. A young man named Yoshi asked me who the central character in the drama represented. I told him the character was Jesus.
Then he slowly asked a question I have never forgotten.
“Who is Jesus?”
At twenty-one years old, he had never heard enough about Jesus even to recognize His name. I had grown up surrounded by churches and owned several Bibles, while this young man had never heard the most important name in the world.
I told him that Jesus was my reason for living. I explained that we could not reach God through our own goodness, so God reached down to us. Jesus lived the life we could not live, died in our place, and rose from the grave so that sinners could be forgiven and reconciled to God.
After listening for a while, Yoshi asked why I would leave the comfort of America and spend my summer in Japan. I told him the only answer I knew.
“Because Jesus Christ loves you, and I wanted you to know.”
That conversation helped me understand Paul’s question in Romans 10:14: “How can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher?” Yoshi had not heard because too many Christians who already knew Jesus had been unwilling to go.
The world is still filled with people who have never clearly heard the gospel. They do not need Christians who merely admire the Great Commission. They need Christians who will obey it.
You may not know where God will send you or how long He will ask you to stay. You may go across the street, across the campus, or across the world. The destination may differ, but the command remains the same.
The Great Commission is not a suggestion to be considered but a commandment to be obeyed.
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