I.
INTRODUCTION:
“Look to the
nations, watch and be utterly amazed for
I am going to
do something in your days that you would
not believe
even if you were told” (Habakkuk 1:5)
When the Lord Jesus Christ gave His parting words in
Matthew 28:18-20 which is known as the Great Commission, little did any man
conceive that a group of ordinary, less-influential and illiterate Jews could
spark off a movement, yes a divinely induced fire that could “turn the world
upside down.” Yet it has continued to
happen, that twelve unschooled men and a few people, through the power of the
Holy Spirit, and in obedience to the Great Commission have turned out to be a
life-giving, light-sharing and food-giving group on every continent. The advancement of this group continues to
grow. There is more and more awareness
going on throughout the entire Globe.
However, Christianity is far from reaching her goal,
that is reaching all the nations before her LORD returns for the second time in
glory, honour and power to reward and to
judge (Matthew 24:14) the world. Mission
research shows that Christianity is about one third of the world’s population,
and that majority of the world’s most unreached peoples live in the latitude 10/40 window.
The Church, in her bid to tackle this challenge has
been trying to bring up so many strategies and methods. Some of these are synergies, partnerships,
mobilization, training, raising of funds for missionaries and equipment. In Tokyo 2010, the Global Mission Consultation
pointed out the urgency of Missions, “we affirm that mission is the central
theme of Scripture, through which God reveals Himself to be God who
communicates and works through us by action and word…” The declaration goes on to stress the
importance of fulfilling the Great Commission; “we recognize that fulfilling
and bringing to completion Jesus’ Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark
16:15; Luke 24:44-49; John 20:21; Acts 1:8) has been the on-going
responsibility of the Church for over 2000 years.
Coming closer to our context in the Nigerian Baptist
Convention, an important research question is “how have we as a denomination,
Conference, Association, Local Church been faring?” In other words, “what is your personal or
group contribution towards finishing the Great Commission?”
In this short charge, our aim is to raise awareness of
the urgency of the Great Commission, mobilize all true Christians toward the
task and suggest practical ways by which we can fulfill the Great Mandate set
for all Christians. This writer writes
from his practical experience as a Missionary and Mission administrator within
the rank and file of the Nigerian Baptist Convention
II. EXPLANATION OF OPERATION TERMS
Two
words, “Kingdom” and “Mandate” shall be briefly explained.
A. Kingdom: In common and modern term, Kingdom designates a king’s
domain or territory; people belonging to that realm. However, this writer subscribes to the
Bible’s and dynamic use which describes Kingdom as right to rule. The original meaning of the Hebrew word Malkuth
in the Old Testament and the Greek word Basileia in the New
Testament means a rank, authority and sovereignty exercised by a king. See Ezra 8:1; 2 Chronicle 12:1; Jeremiah
49:34; 2 Chronicle 11:17; Daniel 8:23 and Luke 19:11-12 where the word is used
as rule. The Kingdom of God is the
exercise of God’s Kingship, His authority, His right to rule based on His
might, power and glory.
God’s
kingdom comes in two ways:
1.
With Christ’s
first Coming – in a more hidden
way. Satan, Sin and Death are defeated
by Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.
In
between, Christ continues His Kingdom mission, working through the Church.
2.
At the End – it will come openly for all to see. Satan’s Kingdom will be destroyed when Christ
comes in full glory.
B. Mandate: This word shall be used to connote all the injunctions
given by Jesus to evangelize the nations beginning from Jerusalem, Judea,
Samaria and to the utmost end of the world.
The “nation” does not mean countries of the world, but ta ethne,
the peoples of the world. “Evangelization must take seriously the hues and
colours, the contours and the character of the diverse peoples of the world.”
C. Staggering
Demographic and Mission Facts
·
World population
– 6.9 billion
·
Christian
population – 2.3 billion (including nominals)
-
⅕ of Africa =
Nigerian
-
⅗ of West Africa
= Nigerian
-
Nigeria
Population =about 160 million
-
Christian
Population = about half of the population
-
Unreached,
Unengaged People Groups = 67
-
Population of
three Mega, UUPGs in Nigeria = 45 million
-
Population of
Nigerian Baptists = Over 5 million
-
Number of
Churches = Over 10,000
-
Number of
Missionaries = about 300
III.PRACTICAL WAYS OF FULFILLING THE GREAT
COMMISSION
A.
Understanding God’s mind about Missions
Missions
involvement means obeying God’s heart desire.
What does God desire, or better still, what is God’s heart beat? It is His desire that His Kingdom will be
established on earth as it is heaven (Matthew 6:9-10). He desires that the earth shall be filled
with the knowledge of the only, one, true God as the waters cover the seas
(Hab. 2:14). God does not want any one
to perish, but wants all to repent and be saved from judgment and damnation (2
Peters 3:9). God commands that all saved
Christians, including the YOUTH must GO all over the world to make disciples of
all ethno-linguistic peoples (Matthew 28:19-20). The heavenly Father desires that we receive
the Holy Spirit’s power before we can go and witness, beginning from our
immediate domain (Acts 1:8). May God’s
Kingdom come on earth through the surrender, commitment and service of the Nigerian
Baptist Convention.
B.
Understanding
Missions and Evangelism as Kingdom
Mandate to every Christian
God has only one son –Jesus Christ whom he made a
missionary. He came to this planet earth over 2000 years ago on a redemptive
mission. He came to seek, to save and to give his life a ransom for many. He
remains Christians’ role model in every aspect, most essentially in mission and
evangelism. Upon the completion of his missions, he ascended to heaven, but
before he left he said to his disciples then and now ‘’as the father has sent
me, even so I send you (John 20:21)
Jesus’ mandate otherwise known as kingdom mandate to
all Christians, popularly called great commission, is still far from being
completed. Almost 2/3 of the world’s populations are non Christians, they need
the gospel, and the 2.33 billion Christians include nominal Christians. Therefore,
the command of Christ ``……. Go and make disciples of all nations…’’ (Matt
28:19), is still very much timely and relevant in the 21st century.
The heart of God bleeds as many souls end up in a christless eternity through
disasters such as war, flood, famine, accident, diseases, and poverty. God has
no pleasure in the death of a sinner (Ezekiel 18:32) but ‘’…… wants all men to
be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
The global statistics of the unreached proves that
there are yet more lands to be conquered. Globally, the number of the unreached
people groups is estimated to be 8,000. The break down include ‘’Muslim (3,300)
groups, Hindu (2,400) groups, ethno- religious (1,200) groups and Buddhist
(700) groups. There are others not included in this analysis; only in Nigeria
there is estimate of about 70 people groups in need of pioneer missions work.
Some body should be touched by what
makes God’s heart bleed. We need to arise and fulfill this kingdom mandate.
C.
Understanding The Role of the Power of the Holy Spirit
in Fulfilling The Mandate
The role of the Holy Spirit can not be overemphasized
in fulfilling the kingdom mandate. God did not intend the missionary venture be
run by human strength but by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus instructed his
disciples not to “leave Jerusalem” but to wait for the father’s promise (Act
1:4). In Luke 24:49 the instruction is clearer. The apostles were to “…stay in
the city until they were clothed with the power from on-high ‘’Power to do
what? (Act 1:8 ) answers explicitly thus “but you will receive power when the
Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth‘’
Perhaps, the insignificant result
experienced in missions these days due to of lack of power. When the apostles
received the power, there were immediate conversion of 3,000 souls (Act 2:41),
shortly after, there was the 5,000 conversions (act 4:4) and the church
increased daily (Act 2:47). There were also signs and wonders by which God
confirmed His word (Mark 16:20). If the apostles and the early church needed
the power of the Holy Spirit to succeed in missions, we need a fresh baptism of
the Holy Spirit in order to fulfill kingdom mandate in missions and evangelism.
D.
Understanding
Some Biblical Methods Used in Missions and Evangelism
There are several biblical
methods used or adopted in missions and evangelism, some of which include:
1. Jesus and Nicodemus: witnessing to an enquirer (John
3:1-2). Nicodemus wanted a solution to a particular problem. Jesus used the
opportunity initiated by Nicodemus to witness to him and he got converted
later.
2.
Philip and the eunuch: witnessing at a bus
stop and in the bus (Acts 8:26-39). Philip went as he was led by the Spirit, he
met a religious man such as a Muslim or a church goer. He started where he met
him and preached the Goodnews to him.
3.
The woman of Samaria(John4:7-42). Jesus opened
the conversation by asking her to give him water to drink. The woman by herself
discovered the identity of Jesus during the discussion. Jesus re-affirmed her
discovery and she immediately became a witness. As earlier said there are several
methods in the Bibles, these are just few examples. Some also say that you can
GO, PRAY and GIVE. All these and many more are the methods one can adopt in
fulfilling the kingdom mandate.
E.
Understanding Some Innovative Missions Opportunities
Information technology has made the world a global
village. Religious fundamentalism is making the traditional way of witnessing
difficult. Wars, famine and other disasters are multiplying refugee camps also;
the rural-urban movement of people calls for the church to devise innovative
strategies to reach our world. Some of these opportunities are not quite new
but there is need to be creative in using them in other to reach our generation.
These are:
·
The Media
i.
The internet:
the internet has today turned the world to a global village. This can be used
to reach millions of people at once. Communication through the internet is done
in several ways: email, instant messaging, online discussion on website, audio
and video. It has potential for personal evangelism, discipleship and apologetics.
ii.
The radio:
the radio has been used for a long time as strategy for missions. It is still
relevant in Nigeria. The Hausa- Fulani in northern Nigeria are known with
radios.
iii.
Movies:
movies are making tremendous impact in our generation. ThankGod for “Mount Zion”
ministries and the likes.
iv.
Television:
this is the only church some Christians and even unbelievers attend, it has
been very productive. Others are satellite
television , computer games, the global service mobile(GSM), among others.
·
Social
ministries
I.
Community development: community
development has been an old strategy of mission but still remains relevant in
our world that is full of disasters, war, famine, poverty etc where it is necessary to respond to the need
of the people. If you tell them the love of Christ, they should see it
practically through: relief aid, agricultural development, developmental
projects, youth empowerment programmes, environmental management programmes, education
etc.
II.
Literacy:
globally, the non literate society outnumbers those who are literates. Basic
literacy programmes can be creativly designed as tools for missions and
evangelism.
III.
Health: the world is contending with different types
of incurable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, hepatitis etc the church should
create avenues for reaching those who are already victims and find ways of
creating preventive awareness programmes. The gospel can be preached through
social and medical strategies.
Other
Avenues:
i.
Tent making: the
professionals, who have the opportunities to go abroad for studies, special
assignment or works should see themselves as missionaries. This is mostly
peculiar to countries that will not allow career missionaries.
ii.
Training: today,
more innovative trainings such as correspondence courses, online courses are
made available to equip man power for
missions.
iii.
Diaspora
ministries: foreigners who live in our cities especially from closed door countries can be targeted
for evangelism. We can train them after conversion and send them back to their
countries.
iv.
Special city
ministries: these includes city slums, street children, alcoholic and drug
addicts, motorcycle riders, destitute, prostitute and homosexuals, widows/ orphans
etc we can easily reach out to these people in the city.
v.
Sports
evangelism: the largest religion in the world is football. If we will reach
sinners where they are, sports evangelism is relevant.
vi.
Muslim evangelism
and refugee camps among others.
vii.
Seeker – friend
services: the church could be more innovative by bringing sinners to church and
minister the message of salvation to them.
viii.
Funding of
missions and missions projects: missions is the responsibility of the church,
the church should create innovative ways of raising funds for missions.
F.
Understanding the Significance of Discipleship in
Missions and Evangelisms
The Great Commission given to the church has been
misunderstood over the years, much efforts has been made in raising converts
and not disciples. Discipleship has this day become the great omission of the great
commission. Evangelism only serves as the door to the great commission;
discipleship is the key to raising productive and fruitful Christians. Remember! Jesus said “go and make disciples of
nations… and teach them”. Therefore as evangelism produces flowers, proper
follow up through discipleship produces “deep rooted and fruit producing plants
“ that last (Matthew 28:19-20)
CONCLUSION:
When Adam fell at
Eden, God sought for him, found him and clothed him. As God’s children, are we seeking for lost souls? God called Abraham and blessed him so that he
could be a blessing to the whole world starting from the Jewish nation. Are you, as an individual, a blessing to the
unbelievers and even believers so that the world could be reached? In Psalm 96, God’s reign is declared among
all people. In what way is God calling you, your church, group or family into
cross-cultural missions so that God might reign among them in glory?
We are convinced
that this is the time for us as individuals, churches, groups and Convention to
come together to launch a campaign to reach the unreached peoples of the
world. Let us join hands to tackle the
remaining task of the Great Commission, fulfilling the mandate given by our
LORD before He returns. Maranatha!
May God depend on
all of us, Amen.
References
Julius .O. Glorious Discipleship. Globec
Glorious Publishers, Delta State, 2006.
Samuel O. O. The Evangelistic Tool for the Church. Josylam
(Nig) Enterprises, Lagos 2000
The
Nigerian Baptist Convention, General Workers Conference Resource Book Baptist Press,
Ibadan 2012.
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