Making Disciples - who are on mission

We conclude this short series on Making Disciples with the focus that God shapes us for a purpose - mission.

Mark 1:17 and Acts 1:1-8

He has created us for a purpose, to be his witness to the ends of the earth.

As a child, I was fascinated with the idea of spies and espionage. My good friend Scott and I had a little spy club where we made identity cards for ourselves (including hand drawn pictures of ourselves in the corners) and we would meet in secret before class to discuss our plans for the day. Maybe we were inspired by Get Smart on TV. But there was something about having a mission for the day.

We conclude this short series on Making Disciples with the focus that God shapes us for a purpose - mission. To make other disciples. He has created us for a purpose, to be his witness to the ends of the earth. As I read from Acts and the Epistles, stories from the early church, and mission movements, they not only had a message to share, but a message to live.

In 1912, a Baptist medical missionary Dr William Leslie and his family went to live and minister to tribal groups in the remote corner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After 17 years, he returned home to the U.S. a discouraged man, believing he failed to make an impact for Christ. He died nine years after his return. In 2010, a missionary team made an amazing discovery. After many days of travel into this remote region where Leslie worked, they discovered Christians in all eight villages they visited. The story they were told was that Leslie would cross the Kwilu River once a year to visit these remote villages to give medical aid and care. While there he also taught the bible, taught children to read and write, and shared Bible stories. It was through his faithful witness that eventually they believed in Jesus. Unfortunately, Dr Leslie never saw the outcome of his years of witness, but he was faithfully making disciples.

And Jesus said to them, “follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men” (ESV) Mark 1:17.

Jesus invites us to become fishers of men—helping to draw people to Jesus through our witness of what Jesus has done in us and for the whole world. He is our saviour. Let us intentionally and prayerfully invite others to know him, our Christ.

Making disciples who multiply—carrying the witness to the world.

God bless

Pastor Stephen