The Great Commission is not a suggestion—it is a divine mandate. Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19–20 to “go and make disciples of all nations” has always been central to our mission. But what if we understood this mission more fully, not only as proclamation, but as demonstration? What if the Great Commission and social justice were not competing visions, but complementary expressions of God’s redemptive love?
As a Pentecostal body committed to reconciling the world to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, we cannot ignore the physical realities people face while proclaiming eternal hope. Matters such as poverty, homelessness, discrimination, and educational disparities are not peripheral concerns—they are barriers that hinder human flourishing and often become obstacles to hearing the gospel. The renowned German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer emphasized the importance of considering people in light of their suffering. I don’t know whom to credit with this statement, but it resonates with me: “When we serve people in their suffering, we don’t dilute our message; we dignify it.”
Jesus did not just preach in synagogues; he touched lepers, fed the hungry, welcomed the outcast, and restored the broken. His message of the kingdom was never detached from his ministry to the poor and marginalized. In Luke 4:18, Jesus declared, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. . . .” This anointing empowered him to proclaim good news to the poor, yet it also anointed him to proclaim liberty, healing, and deliverance from oppression. It was not just a spiritual anointing that Jesus received; it was an anointing for holistic ministry.
The early church followed his pattern. Acts 6 shows how the apostles addressed the neglect of widows in daily food distribution—appointing leaders full of the Spirit to ensure justice. The Good Samaritan did not turn a blind eye to the man who had been robbed and left for dead; he bound up his wounds and cared for him. Peter did not step over the man who had been laid at the gate of the temple as though he had been inconvenienced as he was about to enter the church for a prayer meeting; he healed him. James reminds us that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17) and that true religion cares for the orphan and widow (1:27).
Evangelism and social action represent two wings of the same bird. Social justice, when Spirit-led and Christ-centered, is not a distraction from evangelism; it is often the very thing that prepares the heart for the message. In some communities, people will not “hear” the gospel until they “see” the gospel. A warm meal may not be salvation, but it can be the door through which salvation enters.
We are not called to do social action for social action’s sake. Our mission is not activism; it is reconciliation. That is why everything we do must be empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit does not only give us power to speak in tongues or perform signs and wonders; he also compels us to speak up for the voiceless, to tear down walls of division, and to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). True Pentecostal power manifests itself in both the pulpit and the pantry, in the sanctuary and on the street corner.
I understand that some may worry that focusing on justice might overshadow our central calling to evangelize. That is a valid concern. But I would urge us to see these efforts not as a replacement of our gospel witness, but as an extension of it. A child lifted out of illiteracy, a homeless mother finding shelter, a divided community finding unity—these are not just social successes. They are spiritual victories when done in the name of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit.
When done right, social justice is not the church losing its voice; it is the church gaining its voice. It is not the church losing the gospel message—it is the church living its message. So . . . LIVE OUT LOUD! LOVE BIG! Super-size your SERVE! It’s what Jesus would do!
