The Lord’s words in Matthew 28:19 are beautifully transcendent. Jesus requires the gospel to flex its muscles through us. The Great Commission releases us into the world with an intention. We have an agenda. The Great Commission is a multigenerational group project that every believer contributes to throughout time. At each opportunity, we put our hands to the plow, scatter seeds, lay bricks upon bricks, and we push. God’s people build. We build his kingdom in zones of prosperity, and we build his kingdom where there is destruction and ruins. We are construction workers for the kingdom of God. Be careful not to miss the beauty in this. Consider the broadness and the expansiveness of what Jesus requires. He stamps us with his authority and instructs us to pursue every type of person. Our Lord’s instructions (paraphrased) imply that we should bring people to him, baptize them, and teach them how to follow Jesus. Remember: He is with us as we do this.
We have his authoritative permission to be creative with our approach and obey this directive in various settings, impacting any population or demographic. If we strip social justice down to the fundamental examples the Scriptures provide, our motives will be pure, and we will please the Lord.
Through parables, Jesus explained his care for each individual, illustrating that one person out of a hundred is important to him. Jesus liberates his people so they can contribute to his work in the earth in a way that pleases him, as long as one person is receiving his love through us.
Jesus clarified his compassion for the vulnerable who are at risk for being harmed by the depravity of this world. We cannot merely love their souls and the idea of their eternal relationship with God. Included in the gospel, as demonstrated by our Lord, is a love for people that touches their earthly circumstances now. He forgave sins and he healed bodies. He validated the widow’s mite and labeled her as valuable in God’s kingdom. He rebuked the Pharisees for encouraging people to financially neglect their elderly parents. He first settles our deepest need for salvation and then remains involved in the details and needs of our lives. We observe the Lord as he places the isolated into spiritual families, fills hungry bellies, provides income to a group of fishermen, and cares miraculously for the sick. He makes it clear that he sees the rejected, such as the woman caught in the act of adultery. He ate dinner with those who were hated and bound by their sinful lifestyles, such as the tax collectors. Jesus spent significant time investing in the lives of those whom the religious experts thought he shouldn’t. How does that translate to disciples following Jesus in 2025?
Displaced Afghan Refugees
Social action includes being in authentic relationships with individuals and families who are not like us in terms of race, culture, religion, socioeconomic status, and even worldview. Modeling the gospel with our lives and displaying sensitivity in real time are both tasks of the Great Commission. In 2022, over a thousand Afghan refugees resettled in our city near Raleigh, North Carolina. Our outreach coordinator enlisted the congregation to donate and sort survival supplies for the refugee families. This project responded to an urgent and unanticipated need since the displacement of Afghan families was traumatic and swift. There was no political consideration or question as to whether or not these families were worthy of support. The Lord graciously allowed our hands of service to go beyond meeting only tangible needs. The organizer of the support center, an Afghan Muslim, asked to visit our church to show gratitude for our support. We were a brand-new church plant, having services in our homes after the pandemic. The Lord allowed us to open the Scriptures and connect across cultures to share the gospel, which was more than we expected. We all sat, in the tension of his opposing Islamic religious beliefs, and taught the gospel. The Great Commission calls us to a specific type of social action that is relational, vulnerable, and inevitably uncomfortable.
Embracing new and unique relationships, sharing spaces, and allowing discomfort causes social action efforts to translate into eternal investments. Social justice towards individuals matters just as much as it does for groups and neighborhoods since individuals matter both to Jesus and the angels in heaven. Every step forward for the kingdom of God is highly celebrated by the one with the highest authority. The impact and results are the Lord’s.
Hope and Prayer Booths
Post-pandemic church planting with a disciple-making focus instead of a Sunday-service focus was as difficult as it sounds. Additionally, our rapidly growing community was affluent and highly educated, attracting young families from all over the United States and India. We quickly realized we were in a local mission field where most people were extremely satisfied with their lives and had no physical needs. The Indian community proudly practiced Hindu and invited everyone to their religious festivals, which became a normal part of the town’s culture. We found ourselves preaching the gospel and sharing Jesus in a community where many hearts were hardened to the gospel. The political climate added a layer of skepticism. We had to close our eyes to the outward faces of men and discern the glaring inner spiritual need that still existed even when people did not believe they needed Jesus.
The Lord crafted a vision for us, and we set up “Hope and Prayer” booths in parks and in front of grocery stores throughout the community. The local parks are where many families gathered for recreation and sports activities. We provided free pizza during soccer games, gave away Christ-centered T-shirts, and offered to pray on the spot for the needs of their families. We shared the gospel, and while the responses varied, we were meeting physical and spiritual needs in the Lord’s name. This is an example of brick and mortar laid on a solid foundation in spaces where the spiritual needs are not obvious or welcomed. In season and out of season, the gospel moves us to relational action with our Great Commission agenda in mind.
God’s Word will not return void but will accomplish what he sent it to do even as we give a cup of cold water (Matthew 10:42) to people, hoping they will become his disciples. We must eliminate the natural inquiry—asking who is deserving of Christ’s love in action—especially since none of us are deserving of Jesus’s sacrifice.
In order to unravel our paralyzed approaches and actually take action, we must extinguish the overwhelming desire to unilaterally repair every social problem. Instead, identify the crossroads where compassion meets capacity and, in those opportunities, be intentional. Our intentionality in Christ looks like Ephesian 5:16 (NIV): “Making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Humbly seek to learn the needs of those experiencing circumstances that place them at risk. Rest assured that the gospel and the Great Commission already give us permission, authority, and a command to assist. We can and should support individuals and communities who are mourning. The push from our Savior is to love others through all the opportunities created by living in flesh on this earth. The circumstances that beg for our attention are numerous.
▲ COGOP AROUND THE WORLD The image above features the Church of God of Prophecy in Benin.
