Proclaiming the Gospel and making disciples of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth through digital media
by
Elmer Grobler
I remember as a teenage boy one day asking my father the above question. However, my father's reply didn't make sense to me until twenty years later -- when the Lord brought me to a place of absolute surrender and called me into full-time missionary service. My father's reply twenty years earlier was, "To preach the Gospel." At the age of 38, and after a marketing management career of approximately fifteen years, I discovered that my father was right. I have come to the personal conviction that the Gospel of Jesus Christ contains the fundamental answer to every person’s search for purpose — and that God has a glorious purpose and plan for every individual child of God and the Church as a whole. Since then, I have been busy with the most important work in the world through digital media.
Now, at the age of 75, I am once again wrestling with the same question, namely, what is the most important work in the world? Not because I have a problem with my father's reply, but because I am wrestling with the lack of knowledge and insight in the Church regarding my father's reply. Why does the Church (with exceptions) not consider the preaching of the Gospel to be the most important work of the Church?
After struggling unsuccessfully for the past thirteen years to communicate the vision of world evangelization to the Church in my country, I recently made a radical discovery. I discovered that the Church in general think I (and the vision of world evangelization) is like a dog chasing its tail, but that I (and the vision of world evangelization) am the tail chasing the dog! What gave rise to this discovery was the following WhatsApp message that reached me for the first time in 2024:
"In order to fulfill the command Jesus left us, the church cannot reduce its task to world evangelization. When we do, we produce strategies aimed at a diminished task. Furthermore, if subsequent missions mottos urge us to accomplish Jesus' promise while neglecting his command, we'll be working against the very way Jesus intended world evangelization to be completed: by making disciples.
The Great Commission tells us that the irreducible task of missions is making disciple-making disciples who are baptized into church-planting churches who go throughout the whole world teaching obedience to all that Jesus commanded. This may not make for a quippy motto, but we shouldn't be alarmed that our role in God's purposes can't fit in a tweet or on a bumper sticker. So let's not allow the tail of our missions mottos to wag the dog of our missions mandate. Rather than aiming to "finish" the missionary task, let's unite under the more modest banner of simply being faithful to the task."
What disturbed me most about this message was that the source was not some fringe or unimportant source that could simply be brushed off. However, I am withholding the source on purpose to avoid division. I have great respect for the author and I am convinced that he had no intention of causing division. I am convinced that his intentions are sincere to make a positive contribution to missions. I want to emphasize that my response in this article is by no means intended to enflame division, but rather to prevent confusion and contribute towards unity in vision.
At the same time, it is important to seriously address the above statement as this message has been making its way through social media for some time and is viewed by many as a complete and true interpretation of Jesus’ Great Commission. This message possesses the potential to undo the huge work of missionary visionaries for decades and negatively reshape an entire generation’s missionary vision. Although I don't pretend to be a trailblazer, the Lord has burdened me with a response I have to deliver.
When I read this message, it was like someone pouring a mug of cold water over me. It felt to me that my entire ministry was a waste of time. Now I understand why I have struggled unsuccessfully for the past thirteen years to communicate the vision of world evangelization to the Church -- because (apparently the majority of) Christians believe that world evangelization is a diminished task and something other than making disciples -- that the goal of fulfilling or finishing Jesus' Great Commission is neglecting the task and that making disciples is something different -- that the goal of reaching the whole world with the Gospel is the tail chasing the head. Can it be true that Christians believe this? Now I understand for the first time why Christian nationalism plays such an important role among Christians.
The question I had to answer in my own mind was, what is the tail, and what is the head? Is world evangelization the tail, the head, or the dog? The Lord has subsequently led me to focus my ministry on helping to mobilizing the Church for world missions. Let us therefore address the following questions.
The Great Commission contains the following three inseparable elements, which we will be covering in more detail in the following discussion. These elements are:
Without writing another book, let us summarize this concept as clearly as possible in one paragraph. In a sense, the Great Commission can never be ‘finished’ for the simple reason that millions of people have died through the ages and are dying daily without ever having heard the Gospel. It must therefore be clear that finishing the task does not mean that all people will be reached with the Gospel. What it does mean is that the Bride of Christ will be represented by every nation, tribe and tongue when Jesus Christ returns. (Rev 5:9) Only God knows when the task of the Great Commission will be truly finished, but what we do know is that it cannot possibly be finished until every nation, tribe and tongue are reached with the Gospel. Therefore, when we speak of finishing the task, we mean reaching every nation, tribe, and tongue with the Gospel.
The third question is, are world evangelization and making disciples different tasks? Is world evangelism part of the Great Commission’s primary task or not?
The above statement implies that evangelism and discipleship are two distinct aspects. A convert is not a disciple. Is that true? Is it possible to be saved without being a disciple of Jesus Christ? What is the difference between conversion and discipleship? Libraries are packed with resources on this subject but let us once again summarize the truth in one paragraph.
The truth in a nutshell is that conversion is the starting point of discipleship. Discipleship is a life-long process that begins with conversion. There can be no discipleship without conversion, and there can be no conversion without discipleship. Conversion without discipleship is false conversion. The most reduced task of Christianity is not ‘evangelism’, but formalistic religion – religion without true conversion and regeneration. Evangelism and discipleship are not two separate concepts – they are two sides of the same coin. World evangelization and discipleship are not contrary tasks, but elements of the same task!
It is suggested that an emphasis on finishing the task is a cause for unhealthy churches. To prove this point testimonies are given of missionaries prematurely moving on to new mission fields, resulting in the decline and eventual disappearance of mission churches. While this may certainly be true, the problem never lies with the goal to finish the task.
The history of Europe is a classic example. While Europe was once the cradle from where the Gospel spread to the rest of the world, it is increasingly becoming a mission field -- and this is occurring without missionaries having prematurely left the field. However, there is also another side to the story – while Europe is increasingly becoming Muslim, Muslims who were unreached with the Gospel in their countries of birth, now become reachable.
What is the definition of a healthy church? There are many attributes of a healthy church and the definition certainly ‘can’t fit in a tweet or on a bumper sticker’. However, one of the primary characteristics of a healthy church is a vision for finishing the task of Jesus’ Great Commission.
Can any church without a vision for finishing the task of the Great Commission be considered healthy? Again, libraries are packed with books on the subject, but we will suffice with this statement. The simple answer is NO!
No! It simply attracts our attention to the one element of Jesus Christ’s Great Commission that is mostly neglected!
What is the purpose of a 'quippy motto'? The purpose is to draw our attention to the one element of Jesus’ Great Commission that is mostly neglected!
It is not possible to unite under a ‘simply faithful to the task’ banner without emphasizing the vastly neglected task of aiming to ‘finish’ the task! Not uniting under the banner of ‘finishing the task’ (and we all agree on what the task involves) is in effect being unfaithful to the task!
The challenge, however, is to understand the secret of achieving this goal. This brings us to the following question:
The answer is both. However, although every Christian is called, no individual Christian or mission is gifted to do all three. That is why there are different gifts and callings. That’s why amongst other, evangelists, missionaries, teachers, and pastors have different gifts and callings.
However, only a minority of Christians and churches, and we may add missions and ministries, ever answer to God’s extended calling, and become participants in the Great Commission to the unreached world beyond their own or traditional boundaries. One of the major reasons is because only a minor percentage of financial and other resources available to churches are invested in reaching the unreached world.
When the following question, ‘What percentage of church income goes to the unreached world?’, is presented to Google, this is the reply: “The actual amount of money given to reach the unreached is less than 1% of all the money given to “missions” and less than .001% of the annual income of churches members.” Whether this statement is accurate or not is not the issue, the issue is that it truly points to the problem. I challenge you to do this calculation for your own church and your personal finances.
In fact, what is a diminished task is having a retarded vision of Jesus’ Great Commission. Having a subordinate vision for the unreached world is a diminished task. Every church’s primary objective should be to reproduce themselves and plant new churches with a primary focus on the least-evangelized world. A subordinate vision for the unreached world is one of the greatest obstacles to the Great Commission. The secret to finishing Jesus' Great Commission is a united vision of the WHOLE Church to reach the WHOLE world!
It is difficult to comprehend how anyone can come to such a conclusion by studying Jesus’ Great Commission. The opposite is actually true. World evangelization is actually the head – if one really wants to grind the dog-tail/head issue. As we have already pointed out, without evangelization there can be no discipleship -- and without world evangelization there can be no world discipleship.
The problem is not the tail wagging the dog, the problem is lack of vision for the unreached world. The problem is a lack of Christians who fully understand their calling. The problem is that a tiny percentage of confessing Christians are truly answering the entire call of Jesus Christ’s Great Commission, while the majority treat the Great Commission as a side- or partisan issue, and never become disciple-making disciples. In fact, ‘Christian-nationalism’ plays a far greater role among many Christians than fulfilling Jesus’ Great Commission.
In order to have a sound understanding of Jesus’ Great Commission, one must have a sound understanding of God’s plan and purpose in creation. Once again, this is the subject of an entire book, but let us summarize this truth in a few sentences.
Paul Billheimer helps us to understand God’s purpose in creation when he writes: "The universe, including this planet, was created for one purpose: to provide a suitable habitation for the human race. The human race was created in the image and likeness of God for one purpose: to provide an eternal companion for the Son. After the fall and promise of redemption through the coming Messiah, the Messianic race was born and nurtured to bring in the Messiah. And the Messiah came for one intent and only one: to give birth to His Church, thus obtaining His Bride. The Church, then — the called out body of redeemed mankind — turns out to be the central object, the goal, not only of mundane history but of all that God has been doing in all realms, from all eternity."
(Paul Billheimer, Destined For The Throne, © Christian Literature Crusade, Inc. 1975, p21)
The fundamental and central message of the Bible can be summarized in a nutshell as follows:
God's purpose in creation - and in particular with the Church world-wide - is to produce an offspring for God and a Bride for His Son in His own image, from every nation, tribe, and tongue, to rule with Him over creation in eternity. This purpose and plan will be fulfilled with the second coming of Jesus Christ and the Marriage of the Lamb.
Now we can clearly see where Jesus’ Great Commission fits into God’s plan and purpose in creation – it is God’s operational plan to bring His purpose in creation into fulfillment. That is why finishing the task is fundamental to God’s purpose in creation – and reaching every nation, tribe and tongue with the Gospel is fundamental to finishing the task!
The primary element in shaping our missionary vision must be the return of Jesus Christ. There are many different eschatological schools and views concerning the return of Jesus Christ, but that is irrelevant. However, there are three fundamental questions about the return of Jesus Christ every Christian should answer 'yes' to, and these are:
The fact of the matter is that a prerequisite for a healthy missionary vision is a living expectancy and yearning for the return of Jesus Christ.
The question can rightly be asked – is it possible fora truly born-gain Christian not to have a yearning for the return of Jesus Christ? It is like someone who has boarded a ship to return home to his or her beloved after being separated for a long time, but becomes so entangled with life onboard ship, that he or she has lost the urgency to arrive at the destination.
Someone once said, some Christians are so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly use. However, it is my conviction that the opposite is more relevant – most Christians are so earthly minded that they are of no heavenly use. In 1 Cor 15:19 we read: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”
In 1 Thes 5:2,4,5 we read: “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. ... But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.” In 2 Pet 3:11,12 we read: “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, ...?” One of the fundamental signs of holy conduct and godliness is the priority Jesus’ Great Commission occupies in the life of a believer, thereby hastening the coming of the day of God.
What Christians tend to misread in the Bible is that the return of Jesus Christ will not come like a thief in the night for the believer who is expecting and preparing for His return. Once again, this is the subject of an entire book, but let us summarize the relevance of this truth concerning our subject in one paragraph.
As we have already said, the Bride of Christ shall be represented by every nation, tribe, and tongue! The time of Jesus Christ’s return depends on ONE THING only! There is only ONE THING that is delaying the return of Jesus Christ — and that is the unfinished missionary task! There is only ONE THING that could cause the return of Jesus Christ to be postponed — and that is the fact that there are still peoples, tribes and tongues that are unreached with the Gospel. The return of Jesus Christ does not depend on the fulfilment of end time prophecies – the fulfilment of end time prophecies depends on the fulfilment of the Great Commission!
For this reason, this ONE THING — reaching the entire world with the Gospel must be the Church and every believer’s highest priority!
In conclusion, I herewith propose the following missionary statement as a replacement for the before-mentioned social media message, and I herewith urge you to spread this message via every possible social media platform throughout the world, as a matter of urgency:
“In order to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus Christ, the church cannot reduce its task simply to new church-planting and disciple-making initiatives. When we do, we produce strategies aimed at a diminished task. Furthermore, if subsequent messages urge us to accomplish Jesus’ promise while neglecting His command to reach every nation, tribe, and tongue, we are working against the very way Jesus intended world evangelization to be completed: by making disciples of all nations.
The Great Commission tells us that the irreducible task of missions is making disciple-making disciples who are baptized into church-planting churches throughout the whole world, teaching obedience to all that Jesus Christ commanded. This may not make for church-planting that fits into our predetermined ideas of ‘doing church’, as in many cases believers may not be able to gather physically. We believe that the digital age in which we live is destined by God to fulfill His Church's appointment with the nations and that He calls every Christian to involvement! So, let’s not allow our limitations to wag the dog of our missionary vision. Rather than aiming to just be faithfully involved in missions, let’s unite under the focused banner of faithfully aiming to finish the task.”
Raising our vision from faithful involvement to faithfully helping to finish the task, should not be construed as a license for a diluted Gospel message. Our primary aim is to make disciples – not converts (if such was possible.) May God bless you and your church richly as you aim for the ends of the earth!
