the great

co-MISSIOn

Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 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, 20 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." Amen

The Great Commission constitutes these four pictures

#1 – Going. The idea here is not “go on a mission trip” or “go somewhere.” That means that the great commission is not about going on trips to evangelize people who speak a different language, even though that is a legitimate thing to do. The “going” in the great commission is best understood as a fact that is taken for granted. It would be more like, “While you’re going through your daily routine, you, yes you – you who work there at the prison, at the hospital or the restaurant – as you are going along doing what you do, and going wherever you go… disciple!” That means that every person can participate in the great commission without ever going on a trip. We are all going through life in the every-day stuff. We all have a well worn path that we walk every day, and that is the place where we do the great commission, which is to disciple.

#2 – Baptizing. The idea here is that I am to help people make a firm commitment to become a follower of Jesus Christ. How do I do that? I do it baptizing them. I lead the people that I am with, as I am going along, to commit their lives to Jesus Christ, which is initially done by leading them into the public affirmation of their faith in Jesus. This is done by baptizing them. This is exactly what happens with Philip and an Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8:26-40. As Philip was going, he met a man with questions about the Bible. He answered those questions with a Christ-centered answer, and then led the man into the waters of baptism immediately. Philip was “going” and he “discipled” by “baptizing.” He helped the man to understand Jesus, and then baptized him as the affirming act of his new-found faith

#3 – Teaching. The idea here is that I am to spend the time necessary with a baptized disciple teaching them obedience to everything Jesus taught. That has two big ideas. One – I will have to teach them everything Jesus taught. Two – I will have to teach them to obey Jesus. The word teaching conveys both imparting ideas (conveying theology), and living the things I am teaching (consistent modeling).

#4 – Partnership of God and His Power - There is final important component in the Great Commission that shouldn’t be missed. In English it’s, “I am always with you until the end of the age.” What does this mean? It means that I am not on my own in the Great Commission. It is the mission-enterprise of Jesus himself, who joins me in my going, my baptizing, and my teaching as I disciple others. He confirms the word and work with demonstrations of His power. The scriptures tell us in Mark 16:15-18 (NKJV) “And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

You are on a mission WITH Jesus, who is with you as you do what he has commanded.

International Family Church focuses on mission’s work Globally and Locally.

Global Missions

Our Heart to go nations comes from biblical patterns. The Bible does not use the phrase “world missions,”, or “global missions” but God is certainly missions-minded (Luke 19:10), and His love extends to all the world (John 3:16). We see in the book of Acts that Paul and Barnabas were “set apart” by the Holy Spirit and called for a special work (Acts 13:2). That work was to evangelize Cyprus and Asia Minor. Eventually, Paul’s missionary work took him to Europe. Always, Paul strived to be a pioneer in world missions: “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation” (Romans 15:20). Paul preached the gospel “from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum” (verse 19); he had plans to go to Spain (verse 24), and he eventually made it to Rome. The book of Acts showcases the missionary fervor of the early church and emphasizes the necessity of global missions.

4. Short Term Missions Exposure

Every year people can go on several short-term mission trips through the church. Whether you go by yourself, with your family or with your Life Group, these trips are a great opportunity to connect with ministries locally and globally to share God’s Good News through evangelism, teaching, and humanitarian aid. By recruiting people of all ages, to be the hands and feet of Jesus all across the world. Ultimately, we want to serve the local pastors and full-time missionaries around the world, lift them up through love and support and expand their reach.

1. Church Planting.

Church planting is the establishing of local, indigenous Churches characterized by true worship of God, effective biblical nurture of believers, and evangelization of unbelievers, to the end that these churches will reproduce themselves.

How IFC Engages in Global Missions

2. Leadership Training.

Churches cannot be planted unless there are pastor/teachers to plant and grow them. Therefore, training men to be those who can handle God’s Word effectively as they lovingly shepherd God’s sheep is essential to missions. Involvement in leadership training includes training pastors through seminars, sending audio/video resources, and sending people who will help coach local leaders.

3. Strengthening Existing Churches that are IFC and also non-IFC.

Strengthening ministries are those involved with equipping and building up existing local, indigenous Churches so that they can evangelize and reproduce Churches among their own people in an effective way. When we are working in other nations, we not only want to focus on our work, but also build healthy partnership with other local churches to reach the city for Jesus.

5. Financial Support.

We tithe our church income into missions and also encourage our life groups to financially support leaders who are working in the nation of the World.

6. Fasting & Prayer

When talking about Harvest, Jesus commanded us to Pray for laborers to be sent forth. Every Sunday gathering we take the time to pray for specific countries. We pray that God would locally raise up leaders who will be sent forth to the nations.

How we Engage in Missions Locally!

International Family Church is committed to serving our local city. We love the people and the place God has set us in. Jeremiah 29:7 says “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into..”

1. We engage intentionally reaching out to international students on university campuses

2. We seek to provide individuals living on the streets with some necessities like clothing, prepare hygiene kits and pack snacks.

Acts 1:8 [NKJV] “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Acts 17:26 [NIV Bible] “From one man he made every nation of men,that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.