Our objective is to establish thriving churches of Christians among language and ethnic groups of people where there are none — to teach them to obey all that Jesus commanded us, and to equip others also to do as Christ commanded. Ultimately, the purpose of Biblical missions as described in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), and supported by many other passages (Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; Acts 1:8; Romans 10; 1 Corinthians 15:34; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20), is to preach the Gospel, baptize believers, and teach them to observe all that Jesus commanded His disciples to do. Paul directed Timothy to equip faithful men to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:2), and told the Ephesian church that the purpose of individual gifts is to equip people for the work of the ministry.

Worship = worth shipping

The goal of missions is to equip people who do not know the God of the Bible to know Him: to recognize His worth, to realize that the knowledge of Him is worth gaining for themselves, to realize that the knowledge of Him is worth shipping — and to equip them to ship the knowledge of His worth to the ends of the earth, to people who have no other way to hear about Him.

The goal of missions is to glorify God by acknowledging His worth to the extent of shipping the knowledge of His worth around the world and into eternity — where there will be no need of missions.

Two dimensions of the goal

“Missions focuses on two dimensions of reaching the unreached: the first and primary is the establishing of a gospel witness among them. The second is to mobilize, train, and support those who have the best chance of being physically present to do that.” (Doug B.) Our mission is to bring people into right relationship with a Person: the Creator God. Where people do not have that knowledge, it is our mission to bring it to their understanding — and, if the purpose of missions is to go everywhere, teach everything, and equip people to teach others, then sending a missionary means equipping a person with the skills, resources, and people to complete the task.

How you know you’re done

The end of the work is not a visit, a broadcast, or a decision count. It is a gathering of Christ-followers who actively glorify God in word, identity, life, and discipleship (Acts 16:5; John 15:8) — led by Biblically qualified local leaders, holding God’s word in their own language, and joining the Body in taking the message to other people groups. Paul’s own measure: “so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ … having no more place in these parts.” (Romans 15:19-23) A thriving church makes the missionary unnecessary. That is the goal.

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