Global Missions: Why Every Christian Is Called to Go

Editor’s note – Randy DeVaul lays out a simple framework for missions: the mandate Christ gave, the method He chose, and the message we carry. It’s easy to treat missions as someone else’s job, the missionary’s calling, not ours. DeVaul, drawing on missiologist Peter Wagner, argues every believer is already enlisted in this work, wherever they happen to live, work, or serve.

The Mandate, the Method, the Message

When Jesus stood before His disciples after the resurrection, His words were not a suggestion. They were a mandate. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). This command was not limited to pastors, missionaries, or evangelists. It was given to God’s people, just ordinary men and women redeemed by grace and empowered by the Spirit to carry the message of reconciliation to the world.

The Mandate: God’s Call to His People

From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture reveals a God who sends. He sent Abraham to a new land, Moses to Pharaoh, Jonah to Nineveh, and ultimately His Son into the world. The Great Commission continues that divine pattern. The church is not a passive audience but an active participant in God’s redemptive plan. Peter Wagner and other missiologists remind us that mission is not an optional program of the church. It is the very reason the church exists. We are called to be ambassadors of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20), representing His kingdom wherever we live, work, and serve.

This mandate is rooted in God’s heart for all people. He desires that none should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). The call to “go” is not about geography alone. It’s not even the imperative command in the Great Commission passage. It’s about obedience. Whether across the street or across the sea, God’s people are to reflect His love and truth, wherever in the world they may be, to fulfill God’s mandate: make disciples.

Editor’s note – DeVaul draws a careful distinction: obedience, not geography, is what ‘going’ means. The Great Commission isn’t satisfied by a plane ticket; it’s satisfied by reflecting Christ wherever we stand.

The Method: God’s Way Through His People

God’s method for reaching the world has always been His people. He could have written His message in the sky or sent angels to proclaim it, but instead He chose us, just fragile vessels carrying eternal treasure (2 Corinthians 4:7). The method is relational, not mechanical. It is incarnational, not institutional. Just as Jesus entered our world, we enter the worlds of others to listen, serve, and love in ways that reveal His presence.

The early church modeled this beautifully. They met in homes, shared meals, cared for the poor, and proclaimed Christ boldly. Their witness was not confined to pulpits but lived out in daily life. The method of mission is not about programs or strategies alone; it is about people transformed by grace who live out that transformation in community. As Wagner emphasized, the church grows when believers understand that every member is a minister and every place is a mission field.

The Message: God’s Truth for All Nations

The message we carry is simple yet profound: God loves the world and has made a way for reconciliation through Jesus Christ. Paul summarized it clearly when he said, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19). This message transcends culture, language, and politics. It speaks to the deepest human need, the need to be restored to relationship with God.

Our message is not one of condemnation but of hope. It is not about religion but relationship. It is not about human effort but divine grace. When God’s people live and speak this message with humility and conviction, the world sees Christ through us.

Editor’s note – That line about every member being a minister matters. Too many churches quietly outsource mission work to a few specialists, when Scripture frames it as the whole body’s calling.

Living the Mandate Today

In every generation, God raises up people who take His mandate seriously. Some go to distant lands; others serve faithfully in their neighborhoods. The method may change, such as using digital platforms, humanitarian work, cross-cultural partnerships, but the message remains the same. The Gospel is still the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16).

To be part of God’s mission is not to add one more task to our busy lives. Rather, it is to align our lives with His purpose. The mandate calls us. The method equips us. The message compels us. And together, God’s people become His instruments of grace to a world in need.

A Word from the Editor
Paul told the Corinthians that God entrusts every believer with the message of reconciliation, not just the apostles. Wherever you stand today, you’re already in the mission field God assigned you.

Editor Comment: Randy DeVaul's reminder that every believer is already enlisted in God's mission is a timely word for a church that too often waits for someone else to go.

This article appeared on Medium and is reprinted with modifications and by permission.