"Go to the people" from the Autumn 2017 Vision Newsletter

Go therefore 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 observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20

Chief Apostle Schneider used the Great Commission as the foundation of the 2017 minister service in Chicago. This is the ministers’ mission in the church, and we, as members, can also share in and support this mission.

What does the mission consist of?

Jesus makes this very clear: Go. We have a mission to fulfill and part of that means we must go deeper into the knowledge of Jesus Christ. We cannot remain where we are and think we know everything. To go further into the knowledge of Christ, we need to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We have to go to the people. The transmission of the gospel needs a personal contact. It’s not a mission given by Jesus to an organization or to a company. It’s a mission given by Jesus to each of us. We cannot say that’s the task of the church. We ARE the church. And so it is our responsibility to go because Jesus wants us to have a personal relationship with the people. That’s the difference between a Christian church or the work of God and a company. We cannot act as a company. We have to move, go, talk, and make personal contact.

Why do we go?

To make disciples of all the nations. To make disciples means our task consists of motivating people to follow Jesus. That’s the definition of a disciple: the one who follows Jesus. To do this, we first have to believe that the gospel is valid for all men. Whatever the conditions they live in are, whatever their cultural background is, whatever their economic situation is, whatever their past is. The whole gospel, the laws and the salvation, is valid for everyone on earth. In the Gospel of Mark, it says, Preach the gospel to every creature. We have to preach the gospel and make disciples in the whole population, irrespective of their conditions, of their culture, of their age, of their wealth. When you look at your congregation, does it reflect the population of your town or state?

And what’s our task? To motivate all to follow Christ. We do not want to promise them something. It would be easy to go to the poor one and to promise them they will become rich if they follow Christ. But that wouldn’t make disciples out of them. Plenty of people followed Jesus because they were waiting for a miracle of healing. Others expected Jesus to deliver them from the oppression of the Romans. But this is not why Jesus came to earth. He wanted to have disciples who follow Him because they love Him, they trust Him, and they were ready to leave everything behind to follow Him. And it’s not necessary to threaten people either, that if they are not faithful, then they will suffer in the great tribulation. We just have to reveal to them the glory of Jesus Christ. We have to plant in their hearts the love for Jesus Christ, and help them to discover how great He is. That Jesus is God and God is Jesus. He’s humble. He’s powerful. He’s almighty. He’s love. He’s patience. He’s grace. When people know this, then they will follow Jesus because they have discovered His love and desire to save. That’s the true motivation to follow Christ.

To baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We have to make clear that being baptized and reborn out of water and Spirit is not just a condition to be fulfilled. When you are baptized with water and with Spirit, you get a special strength and it’s up to you to use it. With this power, you can love like Jesus, you can forgive, you can follow, and you have the power to change and to become like Christ. The best way to explain this power is to demonstrate it. Be an example to make obvious the power that we received through baptism with water and with Spirit.

To teach them to observe all the things that Jesus has commanded. When people have decided to follow Christ and they have discovered His glory, love, grace, and patience, then they can understand what it takes to follow Christ. There are a certain number of rules, the law of Christ, to be respected. But when people come to know Christ, these rules won’t seem so restrictive. Now, they love Christ. Now, they will have a desire to live by these rules – out of love for Him. Our task is to teach the law of Jesus Christ, not our own law, our own rules, our own traditions. Our rules have nothing to do with salvation. We have to teach them the gospel and how to live it in their life. This also applies for the younger generations. They don’t need to become like we were and like we are. They can follow the gospel in their society and in their time. Knowing this, we can become more aware and accepting of people’s differences. We cannot ask people to become like us because that’s the way we know how to follow Christ. Instead, we have to teach them to follow Christ and to live according to the gospel in their conditions.

This is our task for the future: going to all people and motivating them to follow Christ, showing them the glory and the love of Jesus Christ. This needs personal contact. And once they love Jesus, then they can be baptized with water and be prepared to be baptized with the Spirit. Then they can be shown how to use this power from their baptism. And then, they can follow Christ in the way that He commanded.