GBC Blog

Mathew 28:18-20 “The Great Commission”

I started attending Grace Baptist Church in 1990. Our Pastor, Dr. Roger Green, had just returned from a mission trip. He preached that one of the things he ran into on his trip was young preachers who were without the complete Word of God.  Some had just a few pages of the Book, while others only the book of John.  As Dr. Green opened his heart with the appeal for Bibles, Grace responded with many funds and copies of God’s Word. That night, my heart was broken. Many began to pray and give to this great need. I also began to pray and give. That was not enough though. We approached printers to see how we could send or take Bibles for the young preachers. We were able to raise the funds to purchase, send, and distribute God’s Word. Many years have passed since that night. Many Bibles have been sent and mission trips taken by lay people to see and be a part of foreign missions. Lamentations 3:51 says, “Mine eye affecteth mine heart.”

The next mission trip, Dr. Green invited us to go with him. That trip changed my life. As I traveled, I saw many needs. My heart was affected and challenged to help in any way that God moved me to action.

It wasn’t enough to just give to missions. When a trip was announced, we promoted it and went to help in any way we could. God blessed Grace, and I became more involved with missionaries.

Regarding missions, as Andy Johnson states in the 9Marks book Missions, “We should have confidence because we know the mission will not fail. We may fail in our faithfulness, but God will not fail in his mission. Christ will have the nations for his inheritance.”

Let’s look at our purpose and mission statements for our church.

Purpose and Mission

The purpose of the church is to glorify the Lord through unified, loving obedience to God’s Word.

The mission of the church is to glorify the Lord by obedience to the Great Commission: teaching, baptizing, and teaching to teach others.

This includes every member of Grace. Get involved by praying for our missionaries and the country they are in. Give to missions through Faith Promise or choose a particular missionary that God has laid on your heart. Pray for home missionaries sent out of Grace. They are members of our mission board and work closely with our Pastor and Grace’s mission board. Many have been home this year and sharing their hearts due to the pandemic. Pray for Go-ers and Senders… make sure you are a part of one or the other. This is all in obedience to the Great Commission. Take a mission trip! Especially if you feel the call of God on your life. Talk to Pastor and take a short-term trip to see missions firsthand. You will be able to pray more wisely, and it will usually knit your heart with missions or missionaries.

Get involved locally in our church. Be a part of a Bible study. Serve at Enabled as workers are always needed. Serve in the jail ministry, Hope House outreach (for both ladies and men), or Bickford Assisted Living.

Remember, the Gospel should drive us to share God’s love with others no matter where we are. The great missionary, Paul, in Romans 10:17 penned, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” May we do all we can as a church to make sure that, both locally and in worldwide missions, we see Christ glorified.

Remember, the Gospel should drive us to share God’s love with others no matter where we are.

Pray for our outreaches, participate through giving to support our outreaches, and persist/continue until Christ returns. Involvement in the Gospel of Jesus Christ will change your heart and life.

Click here to see a list of our missionaries.

May God use us for His Glory!