“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:19-20

Most of you know the passage above by heart. It is known as The Great Commission and, in many ways, is the purpose statement for the church. Here Jesus gives his disciples their task in one sentence: “Go,” “make,” “baptize,” and “teach.” After the disciples have gone and made, they are to baptize new converts and teach them what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Although the sentence is packed with action verbs that seem distinct, it’s all part of one seamless pattern—the work of evangelism and discipleship that will continue until Christ returns.

Evangelism is fruitless if it is not followed by discipleship and training; and discipleship is meaningless if it is not preceded by evangelism. Moreover, the Great Commission is in many ways the continuation of the great commandment given by Jesus to love God and neighbor, recorded in Matthew chapter 22. Without that love, evangelism would be cold and would tend to push people away from Christ rather than draw people to him. Discipleship, in turn, begins the hard work of teaching others what we have been taught, which is in itself an act of worship and love.

Here is our great task at hand: to make and to teach disciples. God is still the center of this ministry, of course, because salvation is his exclusive work (Jonah 2:9) in which we are often afforded the privilege of being the means by which people hear (God draws people, we share the gospel). The work of discipleship, in turn, is a partnership with the Holy Spirit, who illumines as we teach and supernaturally molds people into the image of Jesus Christ.

Over the next three weeks, we will focus on Christ’s call to open our eyes and see that the fields are white unto the harvest (John 4:35). We call it our annual Missions Emphasis. We jump-start the short series this coming Sunday with Myron Drent, our Missionary in Residence, teaching us from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. I will then follow up on September 21 with a message focusing on missions as we consider the text from Esther 4:14, “For such a time as this.” Then, on September 28, after a brief message from John 4:35, we will take up our Faith Promise for missions at LifePoint for 2026. For those able to attend, we will also gather on Sunday evening, September 21, to worship and hear from Sasha and Olga Skrypak concerning the ongoing ministry in Ukraine and the Ukrainian church plant in Austin, Texas.

As October dawns and the cool winds blow (my favorite month of the year, for the record), we will return to our study in 1 Corinthians and consider chapters 12-14. After that, we will pause our study for a short break in November to consider biblical texts and people leading up to and pointing to the coming of the Messiah, which will move us into our Advent Series in December.

The ultimate goal in evangelism and discipleship is not saving sinners and equipping saints, as important as both of those tasks are. And the most important of the missionary motives is not obedience to the Great Commission, as powerful and motivating as that commission is. The overarching goal and motive of evangelism, missions, and discipleship is to develop a passionate zeal for the glorious name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 1:5). This is why the earliest disciples went out into the world (3 John 7). This remains the primary reason why we go in the twenty-first century—to make disciples, baptize and teach; that the name of Jesus might be named in every tribe, tongue, nation, and people group, and that it should be praised and honored, as it will be throughout eternity.

I’m happy to join with all of you in that glorious endeavor!

Grace and peace,



Pastor Jym