THE LEADER’S ROLE IN MOBILIZING THE LOCAL CHURCH IN GREAT COMMISSION COMPLETION
EVANGELISM
The role of leaders in any church is to first follow Jesus. When we are following Jesus we will become like Him. What did Jesus do when it came to evangelism? He went when He was sent. God the Father gave His only begotten Son to the world to seek and save those who were lost. Jesus said,
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10 KJV)
Sounds like a mission and if we are to be like Christ, we must begin our mission to also seek and save the lost. One may say, “That is not my job. That is the preacher’s job. I was not called into the mission field.” Yet the word of God says,
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:17-20 KJV).
Paul, by the Holy Spirit, says that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature and is called to reconcile others to God in Christ’s stead or place. Every man who is called is therefore an ambassador for Christ and has the ministry to reconcile the world in Christ’s place. Furthermore, Jesus has given us the Great commission (Matthew 28:18-20). He has given us the commandment and instructions to go unto all the earth and to teach all nations whatsoever He commands us and to make disciples. This is a perpetual commandment which builds from one person to another (Also see, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:44-48, John 20:19-23 and Acts 1:8).
If we are to be like Christ, we must obey His commandments – to seek and save the lost. Jesus also said, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth” (John 17:17-19 KJV). Jesus sanctified Himself so that we might also sanctify ourselves through His truth (His Word). These verses also say that He sent His disciples into the world as God the Father sent Him into the world. Does that exclude us? No! The next two verses say:
“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me“(John 17:20-21 KJV).
Jesus prayed for us too. We have heard the word that has been passed down through Jesus, and He wants us to be one with Him as He is with the Father.
God sent Jesus, and Jesus has sent us through His words and disciples. If we are to be one with Jesus, we must love what He loves, hate what He hates, and desire what He desires. We need to seek and save those who are lost and to reconcile them back to God in Christ’s place. He is counting on us to do: by going into our neighborhoods, our towns, our cities, our states, our nations, unto the uttermost parts of the world. Will you go?
In Christ,
Greg