Jesus gave us concise instructions in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20, NIV).
 
Two thoughts:

• These are Jesus’ parting words at the end of the Matthew’s Gospel…a conclusion, if you will. A conclusion generally restates the main idea of the piece. Matthew does that with the Great Commission.
• While the love for missions may have been kindled early in our spiritual lives, it is easy to take it for granted the longer we live and the more we experience…if we do not refuel the “fire” of missions.

 
Since Jesus taught that God’s mission should be a priority, it is our responsibility to embrace the Great Commission and help others to do so as well. Sounds overwhelming, but it is simply a four-step process.
 
Step 1—Praying
Do your church members pray for the Church of the Nazarene around the world—at any time, individually, corporately?
If so, your church has taken the first step in the journey.
 
Step 2—Discipling
Do the children and youth of your church understand the importance of the Great Commission, and do they recognize that they are a part of fulfilling that command both within the church locally and globally?
If so, take another step forward.
 
Step 3—Giving
Does your church give for missions? Most importantly, do the people in your church give to the World Evangelism Fund, which gives structure to practically all mission endeavors in the denomination?
You have it down now; take another step.
 
Step 4—Educating
Are those attending your church exposed to what the Church of the Nazarene is doing around the world by the following?

• Reading/listening to NMI missions books/CDs (there are books for children, youth, and adults)
• Participating in mission service projects (Work & Witness, serving in a soup kitchen, or other activity) and/or hands-on missions activities (packing Crisis Care Kits or School Pal-Paks, etc.)
• Hearing missions speakers at least once during the year
• Learning through Living Mission, viewing multimedia missions resources, and/or reading missions publications (magazines, missionaries’ newsletters, etc.)

 
Once someone in your congregation has participated in each of these four points, take a step forward.

 
By taking these four steps, we all are on the journey to making the mission of God a priority. However, as we proceed, we learn that, once we take the educating step, we will feel prompted to take the praying step again.
 
Gail L. Sawrie
NMI Editor