The Future Of The Great Commission

A Personal Observation from My Own Engagement in the Great Commission

‍A few weeks ago, I had the great privilege of teaching overseas, a privilege that I hope every pastor is able to encounter and enjoy within their local church ministry. This particular trip was to teach national pastors who lacked the ability to receive formal training, and it was a blessed time of exhortation to fulfill the call of the Lord. In that time away, there was also time to explore the undertakings of the local churches, learning about their own challenges, experiences, and opportunities. I'm grateful to see how the Lord is working in other parts of the world, as it reminds me that the local church is part of the global church, playing a role in the Lord's sovereign plan. In those highlights, though, something became very evident about the ministry taking place in this particular region of the world: they were very dependent upon the resources of churches in the United States. What began as a look at the ministry taking place quickly turned into a sales pitch for trying to get me and my church to start sending them money, on top of the number of churches already sending them money.

Dependence on U.S. resources does not take on the form of finances only. In another area of the world where I worked for several years, several churches had been planted over the years, yet each was still dependent upon the missionary. In the most extreme example, a church that had been established 40 years prior was on the verge of failing because it had no national leadership. Though they once had 150 in attendance, they could no longer sustain themselves because they depended on the U.S. missionaries to provide the leadership. These circumstances are but a few examples that I know of, and they lead me to some more profound questions.

‍Our Current Ability to Engage in the Great Commission

‍For years, the U.S. church has been granted the benefit of an abundance of resources and the responsibility of stewarding those resources. Through that stewardship, we get the incredible blessing of participating in the Lord's global vision of Acts 1:8 in unique and profound ways. But in looking to the future, I wonder if there is a point when the world is too dependent upon the resources of the United States and whether we need to modify our vision for the Great Commission.

When I look at the state of the church in the United States, it raises concerns for me and makes me question our ability to sustain the Great Commission. Allow me to share a bit of my thinking here and why I am concerned. The church in the United States is starting to experience some challenges. Being a member, or even an attendee, of a church is not quite as popular as it once was, and so churches are experiencing things like declining attendance and increased economic instability (1). We see this play out in the ability to support full-time pastors and a decrease in mission involvement. What happens then if the church begins to fold?

The impact of one church failing is likely to have little effect on the Great Commission. However, if ten churches fail, it creates a more significant impact, and even greater repercussions occur if 100 churches close their doors. In one estimate from 2019, it was said that there was a net loss of 1,500 churches in the United States (2). With the direction of the United States, my expectation is an ongoing decline of the church in the United States without the intervention of the Lord. This brings me back to the original questions: are others too dependent upon United States resources, and do we need to make a modification to our vision for the Great Commission?

‍Our Ongoing Engagement in the Great Commission

‍This is not a call for us to disengage from the Great Commission. I think two characteristics of the Great Commission drive our ongoing involvement in it. First, it was a directive given by the Lord, and so our obedience is non-negotiable. Furthermore, it comes from an all-wise God who has determined the Great Commission to be the perfect means for disbursing His Word into the world and making disciples. Therefore, our desire should be to continue in it.

If you notice what I said earlier, I questioned our ability to sustain the Great Commission, not support it. We should always continue supporting it, using whatever gifts the Lord has given us to propagate it. Instead, this is an issue of stewardship. Is it wise to allow overseas workers and ministries to make their total reliance on the church in the United States? My quick response is, "Probably not." And my proposal would be for us to start being more intentional in supporting the national church in becoming responsible for its own church. This can take on various forms, probably worth discussing, but that might be for a later article. Right now, I am simply proposing this to get us thinking about the future so that if there becomes a need for the church to pull out, the impact is not as abrupt or catastrophic on the national church.

Ultimately, God will do as He pleases. If he intends the U.S. church to be a means for sustaining the Great Commission, then He can do that. Neither do I have the ability to look into the future, and so my judgments are limited. Instead, I'm sharing some observations and pondering the consequences; and so, I think this is a worthwhile conversation that we should at least be having. What is our future role in the Great Commission, and how do we appropriately adjust to that role in order to steward the Lord's provisions and plans?

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ENDNOTES

(1) I recognize that these are premises without support. I'm making claims without offering you proof. However, I suspect that most of you reading this have probably already seen the evidence, as I am not repeating anything new, and a quick search of reliable sources will confirm some of the concerns.

(2) It's not uncommon to see citations like this, so I don't have a reason to doubt them too much. But I also have no gauge to know if this is trying to make churches fearful or if it is a legitimate claim.

https://www.npr.org/2023/05/17/1175452002/church-closings-religious-affiliation