Mike Puddicombe In Matthew 28:19–20, Jesus gave the church its marching orders:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
Within this command are the foundational priorities that should guide every church’s mission. When examined closely, the Great Commission reveals five essential tasks that must be working together in proper balance if a church is to fulfill Christ’s mission.
These five priorities are:
- Going – entering the world where people live
- Sowing – planting the seeds of the gospel
- Cultivating – building relationships that nurture faith
- Baptizing – leading receptive people to Christ
- Discipling – forming believers to become like Christ
These tasks are not meant to operate independently. They must function simultaneously and proportionally. When one element is neglected, the mission of the church becomes unbalanced.
Going: Living Missionally Every Day
The command “go” in the Greek text carries the sense of “as you are going.” In other words, Jesus was not simply commanding occasional missionary activity. He was describing a way of life.
Believers are to remain spiritually alert as they move through their daily routines. Opportunities to share faith arise naturally in everyday settings:
- at work
- in the marketplace
- in the neighbourhood
- at school
- in stores and restaurants
- in community gatherings
The Holy Spirit both creates the opportunities and empowers the witness. Christians simply need to remain attentive and ready.
However, going also includes intentional outreach. Jesus spoke of compelling people to come in from the highways and hedges. Unfortunately, many churches have adopted a passive posture:
“We are here. If people want to come, they can.”
This approach neglects the missionary nature of the church.
Faithful “going” includes reaching out to:
- new residents in the community
- people who have never attended church
- those who once attended but have drifted away
A church that refuses to go will never fulfill the Great Commission.
Sowing: Planting the Seeds of the Gospel
Wherever believers go, they must sow.
Without sowing, there can be no harvest.
Jesus illustrated this truth in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13), describing four types of soil that represent how people respond to the gospel.
The Wayside Soil
This hardened path represents hearts that are resistant to the message. The seed cannot penetrate.
The Rocky Soil
This soil appears promising but lacks depth. Beneath the surface lies rock that prevents roots from developing.
The Thorny Soil
Here the seed grows but becomes choked by competing influences and distractions.
The Good Soil
This soil receives the seed and produces an abundant harvest—thirty, sixty, or even a hundredfold.
Christians sow seeds everywhere life takes them—at work, in conversations, during acts of kindness, and through personal testimony.
And the principle remains simple:
The more seeds that are sown, the greater the potential harvest.
Cultivating: The Power of Relationships
After seeds are planted, they must be cultivated.
Every farmer understands that there is a period between planting and harvest. Seeds require nourishment, care, and time.
The same principle applies to spiritual growth.
Research consistently shows that people are more receptive to the gospel when it is shared by someone they trust. Relationships create space for the gospel to be heard.
Friendships typically develop through stages:
- Stranger
- Casual acquaintance
- Acquaintance
- Casual friend
- Friend
- Close friend
As relationships deepen, opportunities to speak about faith often increase.
This relational process reflects what the Apostle Paul described in 1 Corinthians 3:
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.”
Cultivation is the patient work of building genuine relationships through everyday life—working together, sharing meals, helping neighbours, and walking alongside people through the realities of life.
Baptizing and Harvesting: Gathering the Crop
Eventually the seed reaches maturity and the harvest arrives.
When people become receptive to the gospel, they must be given a clear opportunity to respond to Christ. Baptism represents the public declaration that a person has entered new life through faith in Jesus.
The goal of the Great Commission is not simply activity—it is transformation. People must encounter Christ and be brought into the family of God.
Unfortunately, evangelism is often weak in many churches today. Several troubling realities frequently appear:
- Reaching non-Christians is a low priority for many churches.
- Individual believers often place little emphasis on evangelism.
- The biblical understanding of spiritual lostness has faded.
- Many evangelistic methods produce decisions but not disciples.
- Evangelism is frequently discussed but rarely practiced.
Churches must regularly evaluate their outreach efforts and ask an honest question:
Are we truly reaching people for Christ?
Discipling: Forming Mature Followers of Jesus
The Great Commission does not end with conversion. Jesus commanded the church to teach believers to obey everything He commanded.
Discipleship is the process of spiritual formation.
New believers must learn how to:
- study and apply Scripture
- develop a prayer life
- grow in spiritual maturity
- resist temptation and spiritual warfare
- discover and use their spiritual gifts
- serve the body of Christ
A disciple is both a learner and a follower of Jesus. True discipleship shapes how believers live, think, and serve.
Without discipleship, churches produce spiritual infants who never mature.
Keeping the Mission in Balance
The five elements of the Great Commission must remain in balance. When one element dominates while others are neglected, the church becomes unhealthy.
Consider the consequences of imbalance:
- Winning converts without discipling produces immature believers.
- Going without harvesting leads to discouragement.
- Sowing without cultivating produces shallow results.
- Cultivating without going limits the number of people reached.
Healthy churches continually evaluate their ministries to ensure that all five priorities remain active and integrated.
A Call for the Church Today
The mission Jesus gave His church has never changed.
Churches must go, sow, cultivate, baptize, and disciple.
When these priorities operate together under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the church becomes exactly what Christ intended—a living movement bringing people into new life and forming them into faithful followers of Jesus.
The Great Commission is not simply a command to remember.
It is a mission to live.