Every May, the church I attended when I was growing up would have a “Commissioning Sunday,” where we recognized and prayed for all the mission groups we were sending out that summer. There would always be a sermon about Matthew 28:19-20, also known as “The Great Commission,” and the whole Sunday service was focused on going out into the world and telling people about Jesus. It was a good thing to do, but I quickly started associating the calling to “Go” with big mission trips.  

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I also loved reading about missionaries, people like David Livingstone, Amy Carmichael, and Jim Elliot, who all left their home country and spent the rest of their lives in another country telling people about Jesus. It’s no wonder then, that in high school I felt this strong desire to do some type of mission work. I even went and spoke to my pastor about this pull in my life and how I thought I was supposed to go to Africa.

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As is so often the case though, what I thought was best wasn’t what God had in store for me. I went off to college, met my future husband, and we fell in love and got married. A few years later we had our daughter and then our son, and we moved around the U.S. with my husband’s military career. Everything was great…but anytime I heard anything about mission work or read today’s passage, I felt this immense guilt and confusion that I couldn’t reconcile. On one hand, we are called to go. On the other hand, I knew I was called to be a wife and mother and support my husband and children. I couldn’t just go to another country! I felt like I was sinning by not following the command to “Go,” but I couldn’t figure out how to live that out while staying at home. After all, staying at home is not “going.”

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Then one day a few years ago, I was listening to a podcast by Jen Wilkin, and she mentioned that we are called to make disciples, not converts - two vastly different things. A disciple is a life-long journey to learn about and become more like Christ. A convert is what happens in the moment when you decide to stop living for yourself and start living for Jesus. Now don’t get me wrong, we are absolutely still supposed to tell people about Jesus, but it doesn’t just end there. If you are a parent and are teaching your kids about Jesus, you are fulfilling the great commission. If you are part of a Bible study, help out in kids ministry, volunteer with youth, if you are doing anything that helps other people grow in their walk with Christ then you are accomplishing what Jesus told us to do!

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Let me tell you, when that truth finally hit me, I sat in stunned silence. The incredible weight and guilt I felt for years and years melted away. Go didn’t mean I needed to always leave my house. Go just meant that I shouldn’t sit complacent in my faith. It’s a call to action, but not necessarily a call for physical travel to another far-away location.  

Maybe, like I did, you feel like you’re not doing anything to make disciples. Or maybe you are already serving and reaching people - that’s great! My challenge for you today, no matter where you fall, is to look for that one person you’re supposed to connect with as you go through today. Who could you encourage in their faith? Who could you pray for? Who could you invite to attend church with you? Don’t just sit today; get up and go!