Jesus Is For Every(One)
Jesus Is for Everyone: How the Gospel Is Reaching the Nations
The Great Commission was never meant to stop at our doorstep. Jesus didn't give the church a local mission only. He gave us a global mandate. And right now, that mandate is being fulfilled in ways that are hard to fully comprehend.
What Does the Great Commission Actually Say?
In the final verses of the Gospel of Matthew, just before ascending into heaven, Jesus gathered His disciples and gave them these words:
"I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20
Notice that Jesus didn't say "learn about me." He said obey. There's a difference between knowing what the Bible says and actually putting it into practice. The Great Commission calls us to both.
Key Verses:
Matthew 28:18-20
Romans 1:16
Romans 1:10-12
How Do You Know You're Growing in Your Faith?
One of the clearest signs that you are growing closer to God is this: you begin to care more deeply about the things that move His heart.
When you hear stories of people coming to Christ in difficult places, it doesn't just pass through you. It stirs something. It convicts you. It fires you up. You find yourself praying, "Lord, do more of that."
That's what it looks like to grow closer to the heart of God. His priorities become your priorities.
Why Is the Gospel Called "Good News for Everyone"?
Paul put it plainly in Romans 1:16:
"I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes." - Romans 1:16
Everyone. Not just people in comfortable places. Not just people who have access to churches or Bibles. Everyone.
The gospel began 2,000 years ago in an obscure corner of the Middle East. Jesus rose from the dead, gathered a small group of followers, and told them to start in Jerusalem and work their way to the ends of the earth. That's exactly what happened. The gospel crossed cultures, languages, political systems, and oceans. And here we are today, still hearing it.
What Does a Global Gospel Movement Actually Look Like?
Consider these numbers from one church's global missions work over the past 20 years:
50,000 disciples trained and sent
29,000 baptisms recorded
9,000 of those baptisms have happened since January of this year alone
2,000 churches planted
This is Matthew 13 in real time. Jesus described it as seeds falling on good soil and producing a harvest, some 30 fold, some 60 fold, some a hundredfold. That kind of exponential growth is exactly what happens when the gospel takes root in a community and people are sent out to share it.
What Strategy Is Behind This Kind of Gospel Growth?
The approach behind this movement rests on three pillars:
Gospel planting through Discovery Bible Groups
Community development (helping communities flourish and lift themselves out of poverty)
Caring for the vulnerable (orphans and widows)
What Is the BLESS Method and How Does It Work?
Trained local pastors are sent into communities using a simple framework called BLESS:
B - Begin with prayer. Ask God who He wants you to reach.
L - Listen. Build relationships. Listen for needs, pain, and problems.
E - Eat together. Share meals. Build trust.
S - Serve. Look for practical ways to meet needs.
S - Share. Earn the opportunity to share your story and the gospel.
This isn't complicated. It's relational. And it works.
What Are Discovery Bible Studies and Why Are They So Effective?
After people come to faith, they gather in small groups, often in living rooms, and open the Bible together. They ask three simple questions after reading a passage:
What does this say about me?
What does this say about God?
What am I going to do about it?
Then they make a commitment. Maybe someone reads about forgiveness and realizes there's a person they need to forgive. The group holds them accountable. The next week, they come back and report. Did you do it? How did it go?
That's discipleship. Simple, obedient, accountable discipleship.
And here's the key to the multiplication: when someone in the group says, "I have friends who need to hear this," the leader doesn't say, "Bring them to our group." The leader says, "Sounds like you need to go start a new group." One disciple becomes two. Two become four. Four become eight. And before long, you have 50,000 disciples.
What Happens When the Gospel Takes Root in a Community?
When enough Discovery Bible Studies form in a village, they come together into a local church of 60 to 100 people. Those churches then look outward. They identify the vulnerable. They serve the community. They launch care centers that provide education, food, clean water, and government identification to children who have nothing.
Women are empowered to start small businesses through microfinance programs. Families begin to lift themselves out of poverty. Communities are transformed. And people notice. They see a group of people who love Jesus and are caring for the most vulnerable among them.
In one region alone, more than 550 women have started businesses through this kind of support. That's 550 families with new hope and new futures.
What About Persecution? Is the Gospel Still Advancing in Dangerous Places?
Yes. And it's important to understand what that actually means for believers in other parts of the world.
In parts of Southeast Asia, pastors are working in communist countries where simply having a Bible can bring persecution. Trained leaders are invited across borders, equipped in safe locations, and sent back to plant underground churches in villages that have never heard the name of Jesus.
In northern India, anti-conversion laws have made it illegal to convert to Christianity. Pastors caught sharing the gospel face seven years in prison. Churches have been demolished. Christian organizations are being shut down. And yet the gospel is still advancing, through underground churches, through community health programs, through care centers that serve orphans and widows.
As one pastor working in India put it: "God can move mountains. He can change prime ministers and presidents. God can do miracles when you pray."
What Can We Learn From Believers Who Risk Everything for the Gospel?
Paul wrote in Romans 1:11-12:
"One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours." - Romans 1:10-12
There is a mutual encouragement that happens when the global church connects. Believers in comfortable places are challenged. Believers in difficult places are strengthened. We need each other.
Brothers and sisters in Christ who are facing persecution, imprisonment, and poverty for the sake of the gospel are not distant strangers. They are family. And when we see them, we should recognize the family resemblance.
What Is the Challenge for Christians in Comfortable Places?
It's easy to admire what's happening across the world and feel inspired without actually changing anything about how we live. But the same strategy that is producing thousands of baptisms and thousands of church plants overseas is available to every one of us right here.
Begin with prayer. Listen. Eat together. Serve. Share.
When was the last time you intentionally prayed for your neighbors? Your coworkers? Your classmates? Eternity is hanging in the balance for the people God has placed in your life. The question is whether you'll take it seriously.
Life Application
This week, identify one person in your life that God has placed there for a reason. Write their name down. Begin praying for them daily. Look for one practical way to serve them or listen to them this week. You don't have to have all the answers. You just have to start.
Ask yourself these questions as you reflect:
Who is the one person in my life that I know needs to hear the gospel, and what is stopping me from taking a step toward them?
When I read the Bible, am I asking "what am I going to do about this?" or am I just collecting information?
Do I genuinely care about what God cares about, including people in difficult places who are risking everything for the same gospel I take for granted?
What would it look like for me to live out the BLESS method in my own neighborhood or workplace this week?
Who is your one? Who is one person in your life that God may be calling you to intentionally pray for, serve, and eventually share the gospel with? What is the one practical step you could take this week toward that person? The gospel is still good news. It is still the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes. The question is whether we will carry it with the same urgency and faithfulness as those who have so much less and risk so much more.
Setlist
WFC Lenexa + WFC Anywhere
I Got Saved - Elevation Worship
Homecoming - Bethel Music
Who Else - Gateway Worship
WFC Speedway
Holy Spirit Come - Patrick Mayberry
I Speak Jesus - Charity Gayle
When You Walk Into The Room - Brian & Kate Torwalt
Be sure to save our Spotify Worship Playlist, updated weekly with the upcoming Sunday’s set!
