I’m one of those guys who responded to an altar call at a concert. I shot to my feet so fast I got dizzy…and I was already a Christian! The altar call was for radical Christians; believers who would risk life and limb to become missionaries and take the gospel to faraway lands. Being radical for Jesus sounded like a great career move to me, way better than my minimum wage job. So I stood! I stood up to be counted, stood tall for Jesus, stood ready to leave that night for the radical life.

The tug on my pant leg came just above the knee. It was my new bride. I had, ummm, momentarily forgotten about her. She was still seated and not a little confused. Stow the passport—this needed to slow down a bit. Eventually God showed us that we should be seated in a church before we could stand for missions. So we joined a church, and it was there we discovered that God’s mission to the world—the Great Commission—doesn’t sidestep the church but actually involves the church. That’s part of what makes it a GREAT Commission.

Our commission is great because it recruits the church.

The Great Commission is given to the disciples, not just as apostles who walked with Jesus, but as representatives of the church (Matthew 28:16–20). Sure, the apostles received it (v. 16), but the church has to finish it.

Why would I say that? Three reasons:

1. Look at the target of the Commission: “make disciples of all nations” (emphasis mine). Is it possible that these eleven men could circulate to “all nations”? The obvious answer is “uh-uh.” It’s evident that other people—a lot of people—are in view here. But that’s not the only reason.

2. Think about the duration of the Commission: “to the end of the age.” The eleven may have been special, but they certainly weren’t eternal. That means the “you” referenced in verses 20 and 21 refers to people beyond the eleven. Christ is talking to the church as well.

3. But also look at the application of the Commission: If Acts and the rest of the New Testament chronicle the disciples’ understanding and application of the Great Commission, local churches seem to emerge as the fruit, focus, and fuel of missions.

Much of the telling of missions history reveals a different understanding. Many pages are filled with stories of exceptional missionaries—amazing men and women who made incredible sacrifices and demonstrated heroic faith. They portray the work of God through individuals, but only in exceptional cases do we see the centrality of the church in missions.

But our commission is great because it flows not just to the eleven but to the entire church. John Piper said, “It was given not only to the apostles for their ministry but also to the church for its ministry as long as this age lasts.”*

Remember, the eleven got it; the church finishes it.

Our commission is great because it results in the church.

The origins for church planting are seen in the shadows of Matthew 28. Just think about the ingredients of the commission itself. “Go. Make disciples. Baptize. Teach.” That’s explosive stuff.

It’s funny. Often in evangelicalism, the Great Commission is reduced to just a couple of menu items. It’s like a buffet—a commission buffet—where we spoon ourselves the portions that appear most appetizing. A little going and baptizing? Oh yes, that sounds delicious. Teaching and making disciples? Hmm, I think I’ll pass. Takes too much time…sours the stomach a bit.

But hold on. As Christians, we’re supposed to embrace the full scope of Matthew 28. After all, going without making disciples is an aborted commission. Baptizing without teaching is birth without growth. If my mission strategy is to relocate to Latin America or Asia to preach the gospel, I may be godly and well intentioned, but I may only be “going” and maybe “baptizing.” That’s a commendable commission, but not a complete commission. To fulfill the Great Commission we must reach for all of the ingredients of Matthew 28.

Think about how the Great Commission was applied in the New Testament. Missions in the New Testament was about churches and church planting. It was profoundly church-centered. That’s why Paul was sent from local churches and received into churches. It’s why his labors resulted in churches and his letters were addressed to churches. It’s why the aim of missions was never to separate from the church, but to result in the church.

For our commission to be great, we must have more than preaching good news. We must be creating new communities—local churches! And that takes time and patience. At that concert when I responded to the altar call, I had collapsed the commission down to “going.” How grateful I am that God revealed the whole picture and showed me the extraordinary link between the mission and the church.

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Dave Harvey leads international expansion and church planting for Sovereign Grace Ministries and is based in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. For more information about the Sovereign Grace church-planting process, click here.

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* John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003), 160.