The global mission of the church
Jesus told his disciples, “be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NLT). God called the early church to be missional outside of their own communities—to share the gospel to those in their surrounding area but also to the ends of the earth. This is our call today, too.
The vision of the church in Revelation 7:9-10 sees people from all different cultural backgrounds come together through Jesus. Realizing that vision requires engaging in mission that reaches beyond our tribal and cultural boundaries.
The local mission of the church
In the same way, the church needs to be attentive to the needs of the people directly surrounding us. Local mission—loving those in your backyard—is exactly how Paul started doing mission work. He built relationships, participated in outreach and evangelism, practiced discipleship, taught, and trained up leaders. We often need to learn these skills within our own context before we are ready to practice them on the other side of the world.
Jesus began his ministry preaching, teaching, and healing the sick in Galilee. He made his first disciples when he invited fishermen in Galilee to join him and learn to fish for people.