If you are part of a small church or live in a small area the last thing that may be on your mind is reaching the world. The Great Commission isn’t just for mega churches. God has let all of us be a part of reaching the world. The last thing Jesus said to the disciples before being taken to heaven is recorded in Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The first step to engage your church and life in the Great Commission is to define your Jerusalem (those who could physically attend your local church), Judea (those close and like you but too far to be a part of your church regularly), Samaria (those different from you whether physically far or near), and the uttermost (those who have never heard).
The next step is to start believing God has a specific role and assignment for your church. Pastors in America and overseas often say they will begin to reach to regions beyond after their area is reached. Jesus didn’t say reach Jerusalem THEN Judea. He said reach Jerusalem AND Judea. His plan for us is to reach out simultaneously with our greatest efforts going to our local area. Pastors have even said; “God didn’t call me to missions”. The truth is that we are all called but in a unique way that fits who we are and where we live. Someone said the light that shines farthest shines brightest at home. We should emphasis our local area without neglecting the rest of the world. Visiting missionaries may inadvertently act as if the local church you pastor in America doesn’t matter and the people in your region aren’t as valuable because they have already heard the gospel so all of your efforts should be focused on the 10/40 window.
The church I pastor is in a town of less than 8000 people but God lifted our eyes to see the harvest. We have been able to refocus our vision on all 4 areas of the harvest by partnering with others and thinking a little out of the box. That has caused the church to experience I think an extra grace and blessing because we included the world in our vision.
You and your leadership team need to begin to pray and strategize about ways to engage all four areas. It is obvious to us how to reach out to our Jerusalem but the other areas need some clarifying. We reached out to our Judea (those like us and close) by planting a campus 15 miles away and adopting a long term church planting strategy for our state. Those who are in our Samaria are culturally different so they may be close (Hispanics or another immigrant group) or overseas. This area is where most of our foreign missions money went in the past. Lastly we realized that probably very few people from Warrenton, Missouri were going to move to the 10/40 window to reach the unreached so we partnered with some others who specifically targeted those groups. It is possible that some unreached people groups have moved close to your church. Check it out! The world may be at your doorstep. St. Louis has many Bosnian Muslims who were relocated there after their war for instance.
In a practical way this decision will show up in your praying, funding, and sending. The people in the local church will get a vision for the international church and realize they are part of something bigger than just the place where they fellowship.
It is possible to be a world class Christian and a world class local church from anywhere in the world. God didn’t exclude us from the most important thing to Him which is reaching those who are far from Him whether they are around the block or around the world.
This article has been written from the perspective of a local church pastor. I am not a full time missionary. God’s heartbeat is that His entire body would accept the challenge to see our role in finishing the task. The people you pastor are His treasure. They are valuable and important to you and Him. Thank God for where He has placed you but from where you are lift up your eyes and see the harvest. You can see the world from where you are if you want to.
