Introduction: The State of the Great Commission.
This week, we begin praying for the World and the accomplishment of the Great Commission.
We will share information on the ‘State of the Great Commission’ from a report published in September 2024 by the Lausanne Movement and from the Operation World and Joshua Project, who regularly update the current position of the Great Commission.
But before praying, the Great Commission must be understood correctly.
Without it, no accurate evaluation of its progress or achievements can be measured for Intercession.
In this Prayer Circular, we highlight the following topics for Prayer:
- What is the Great Commission?
- Biblical and Historical background.
- The State of the Great Commission.
- Reasons for the lack of understanding of the Great Commission.
A. WHAT IS THE GREAT COMMISSION?
First, the term ‘Great Commission’ is not in the Bible!
This term is only about 200 years old, and it has not been used for over 1700 years. Still, after 200 years of use, only 17% of the Church can properly understand it. The Biblical understanding of the Great Commission is vital since it is not just a human enterprise but a divine mandate.
Biblical Foundation.
Broadly speaking, the ‘Great Commission’ refers to the mandate that the Lord Jesus entrusted to the church through his Apostles. The term primarily refers to the Final Command in Matthew 28:18-19:
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ‘teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
The only reason why the Church exists on earth to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus.
The ‘Last Command of Christ’ must become our ‘First Priority’ in life.
- The other Gospels and Acts further support Matthew’s command with different emphasis added to this:
- Mark 16:15-16: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved”;
- Luke 24:47: “Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations”; John 20:21 ‘As the Father has sent me, I also send you,”
- Act 1:8, “You shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Going back to the Old Testament, the roots of the Great Commission are found in the promise to Abraham of God’s desire to restore all mankind to himself: “In you, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3, 22:18).
Historical Background.
Historically, the missionary Hudson Taylor (1832–1905) brought the term ‘Great Commission‘ to the frontlines in missions. He borrowed it from a Dutch missionary, Justinian von Welz (1621–1688), who had used it as a title for Matthew 28:18–20.
Until then, for over 1,500 years, this text “had primarily served a broader purpose ‘as the trinitarian foundation of ecclesiology’ and as the ‘formula for Baptism’ – but not as a ‘missional mandate.’
However, it was Missionary William Carey who passionately challenged the effective employment of the final words of Jesus as a biblical basis for ‘World Evangelization.’ His impassioned plea in 1792 to the Baptist Convention was the turning point for modern Missions:
“Our Lord Jesus Christ, a little before his departure, commissioned his apostles to Go, and teach all nations; or, as another evangelist expresses it, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.’ This commission was as extensive as possible and laid them under obligation to disperse themselves into every country in the habitable globe and preach to all the inhabitants, without exception or limitation.”
He emphasized the ‘all-inclusive’ nature of the commission in Matthew 28: ‘All Authority’ – ‘All the Nations’ – ‘All the Commands’ – ‘All the Way. This inaugurated the ‘Modern Missionary Movement’ motivating Missions Organizations and agencies to take the Gospel to ‘all people’ in the ‘whole world!’
It is said that this Modern Missionary Movement accomplished more in 200 years than all efforts in the history of the Church to accomplish the Great Commission!
Prayer: Take a moment to pray for a greater understanding of what the ‘last command‘ of Jesus should mean to the Church today. This year, commit to reading all scriptures mentioned above on the Great Commission regularly, memorizing them, and using them in prayer. For, He promised:
“I will hasten my word to perform it.” (Jeremiah 1:12)
B. State of the Great Commission:
Introduction:
Since the Great Commission was given to 11 Apostles 2000 years ago, Christianity has become the largest religious group today, with over 33% of the World’s Population. The Movement that began with the ‘Carpenter of Nazareth‘ grew from Palestine and moved through the Mediterranean to Europe and eventually to the entire world.
Our Prayer for the fulfilment of it must based on faith and hope:
“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)
THE WORLD TODAY:
The World Religions:
The majority of the world’s population follows four major religions: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism,
All Christians in the World Today.
The Map below shows the Global spread of Christianity in different nations and their percentage.
Take a moment to praise God for the faithful missionary work dedicated to the Great Commission, which has contributed to this.
This includes Roman Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, and Independent Christian groups, as shown below:
The Countries with Highest and Lowest Christian Presence.
Prayer: Take a moment to pray for the 10 Countries above with the lowest Christian presence.
Think of yourself living in one of these countries and pray for their need to be discipled.
Read more about these nations, and ask the Lord to give you a burden for Intercession! (Read more information about them in Operation World)
The Evangelicals:
The term “Evangelical” is used to describe Christians who focus simply on the core convictions of the Triune God, the Bible, Faith, Jesus, Salvation, Evangelism, and Discipleship. The term “evangelical” comes from the Greek word ‘euangelion,’ meaning “the good news” or the “gospel.” Thus, the Evangelical faith focuses on sharing the “good news” of salvation brought to sinners by Jesus Christ. The majority of Missionary organizations involved in the Great Commission are Evangelical.
The Pentecostals:
Pentecostal and charismatic expressions of Christianity are the face of the rapid growth, renewal, and diversification of Christianity in the Global South. Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa are now the demographic centers of global Pentecostalism.
They have changed the composition of the Church, growing from almost zero in 1900 to over 600 million today!
The Assemblies of God is one of the fastest-growing Pentecostal movements in the world. More than 170 members of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship currently represent more than 442,000 Churches, 436,000 Ministers, and 85 million adherents.
The purpose of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship is to pursue the fulfillment of the Lord’s command to evangelize the lost in the shortest possible time…seeking the most effective means of its accomplishment under the dynamic leadership of the Holy Spirit.
The Pentecostal World Fellowship is a cooperative body of Pentecostal churches and groups worldwide of approved standing. It is not a legislative organ to any national entity, but it is rather a coalition of commitment for the furtherance of the gospel to the ends of the world and thus shall function as a facilitator of vision and mission:
Prayer:
Pray for the Evangelical and Pentecostal Churches to be committed to embrace and expedite the Great Commission.
C. Significant Challenges for Prayer:
Lack of Understanding the Great Commission.
While we Praise God for the accomplishments of the Great Commission so far, the remaining task is mammoth! God has said that His people are perishing due to a lack of knowledge. More millions are also perishing because of the Church’s lack of understanding of the Great Commission!
The Challenge before us
How many will depart this life to a Christ-less eternity before you finish reading this article because the Church did not understand and fulfill the Great Commission?
- 62 million people died in 2024!
- 170,000 people died each day.
- 7,000 people died each hour.
- 117 people enter eternity each minute.
Your Intercession can change these statistics in 2025.
Prayer:
Please review the information you have read about the State of the Great Commission and ask the Holy Spirit to give you a greater understanding and burden for Intercession.
Next Week:
Two Key Reasons why the Church lacks understanding of the Great Commission.
How can we speed the fulfillment of the Great Commission?
Sources:
Lausanne Movement.
Operation World.