Should missions be secondary in the life of a local church?
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By John Piper
About Church Mission
Part of the series Ask Pastor John
The following is an edited transcript of the audio.
Should missions be secondary in the life of a local church?
No. In fact, the very mission statement at the center of our church is, "We exist to spread"—the key word there spread—"spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples."
The very last thing Jesus said—which I assume means it is important—before he went back to heaven was, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20). So the very last crucial thing he put on the church until the end of the age—and we're not there yet—is making disciples of those who are not yet believers in Jesus.
The reason missions has to be so central is because the glory of God is central. And people who don't believe in Jesus are trampling the glory of God in the dirt because of their unbelief or indifference. But we love the glory of God, and we want them to see and savor the glory of God and magnify it in the world.
Therefore missions, for anybody who loves the glory of God as the central reality in the universe, has to be one of our central tasks.
