Our Great Commission
I want to prepare you the way I prepared our church on Sunday: this is a wake-up call. Not a rebuke, but a loving jolt—the pastoral equivalent of a “Holy Ghost water bucket.” We’re entering a focused season where our church moves from good intentions to gospel action. The value driving this series is simple and non-negotiable: we are relentlessly driven by the mission. When the Great Commission comes into focus, our priorities sharpen, our preferences shrink, and our pace increases. People need the gospel. That conviction shaped this message.
The Mandate Jesus Gave Us
Mark 16:14–18 ESV
¹⁴ Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. ¹⁶ Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷ And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.
Jesus’ words are a wake-up call in themselves. He confronted unbelief, then commanded mission. The Commission is not for a subset of “called” people; it’s the operating system for every believer and every gospel-centered church.
The Gospel Is For All People
Acts 1:8 ESV
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
“All people” means every age—from the nursery to the nursing home. It means every class—from the trailer park to Park Avenue. It means every race—because the gospel tears down walls culture builds. Our vision is a Jesus-centered, Spirit-filled church for all people here in Saraland. If we shop together and go to school together, we should worship together.
Proverbs 22:2 ESV
The rich and the poor meet together; the LORD is the maker of them all.
That’s why we’re intentional about honor. In Jesus’ church, dignity isn’t distributed by income, background, or history; it flows from the image of God in every person. It’s also why we’ll confront the spiritual divide around race in our area. God does not look favorably on any form of “otherizing.”
Numbers 12:1–2 ESV
¹ Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. ² And they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it.
God heard it—and judged it. The lesson is clear: the family of God must reflect the heart of God. As we grow, expect our room to look more like our grocery stores, schools, and stadiums—multi-ethnic, multi-class, multi-generational. Practically, we’re even exploring Spanish translation so we can open wider doors for neighbors who don’t speak English as a first language.
We’re In It For The Long Haul
Salvation is a miracle; discipleship is a process. In Mark 16, people believe, are baptized, and then signs follow. There’s a tangible pathway (we’ll build systems that help new believers take clear next steps), and there’s an existential pathway (the Holy Spirit untangling real lives at real speed). Instant, total transformation happens—but it’s rare. Often the Spirit starts the work at the altar and continues it over months and years.
Abraham shows us this rhythm. He believed and was counted righteous—and decades later his faith expressed itself through works. The righteousness wasn’t on hold; God had already called him friend. We’ll be the kind of church that gives people time for the Holy Spirit to finish what He starts, while still calling everyone forward.
The Consequences Are Massive
Eternity is at stake. Jesus didn’t mince words.
Mark 16:16 ESV
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Jude 1:20–23 ESV
²⁰ But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. ²² And have mercy on those who doubt; ²³ save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
“Snatching them out of the fire” is not poetic flair; it’s our mission statement in miniature. Within roughly twenty miles of our building, estimates suggest hundreds of thousands of spiritually lost people. If we believe Jesus that one must be born again to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3), then delay is not compassion—it’s negligence.
Pastor folklore tells a story about moving a sanctuary piano one inch a night to avoid conflict. There’s wisdom in patient change. But while we’re inching furniture, people are stepping into eternity. Some decisions cannot wait until “after coffee.” Like the nurse who left the break room early and saved a life in room 418, mission requires margin for holy interruptions.
Mark 2:17 ESV
And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Our church will put a gospel presence between our neighbors and a devil’s hell. That means we’ll set aside preferences, personal comfort, and nostalgia to prioritize what brings people to Jesus and grows them up in Him.
What This Looks Like Here
We will measure ministry by mission impact, not by how comfortable it feels. We will build systems that move people from decision to discipleship to deployment. We will welcome “all people” intentionally and visibly—multi-ethnic, multi-class, multi-generational. We will equip you with practical tools to share your faith and invite people. In the coming weeks, we’ll announce a church-wide opportunity Ashleigh and I are preparing to gather a great harvest in our area. We’ll also accelerate everything that helps us reach people now—because six funerals a day in our county means six opportunities we can’t get back.
We love every gospel-preaching church in our city, but we will lead as if the responsibility is ours—because, before God, it is. We’re relentlessly driven by the mission. We are going to “go into all the world,” starting right here in Saraland, until this room looks like our city and heaven gets crowded.
