The Great Commission and short-term missions

Every believer is sent. Short-term mission is how ordinary believers (students, professionals, tradespeople) carry the Gospel beyond their comfort zone in a focused window of time.

The command

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:18–20, KJV)

This is not a suggestion; it is a command. And it was not given to a special class of ministers; it was given to everyone who would ever believe in Jesus. The same way you were saved is the same commission under which you now live: you were saved to save others.

Sent, not removed

I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. (John 17:15–18, KJV)

Jesus prayed for believers to remain in the world, not to be removed from it, so that the world would come to know Him through them. Most people in church are already lights. The command was never to keep the light inside the building: "Ye are the light of the world", not merely the light of the church.

The ministry every believer carries

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:17–18, KJV)

God has given every one of us who is in Christ the ministry of reconciliation. No believer can say, "ministry is not for me." It is not a title you apply for; you carry it the moment you are in Christ.

Equipped in the church, sent to the world

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11–12, KJV)

The gifts God placed in the church exist to equip you for the work of ministry, not to do the work of ministry instead of you. Church is the equipping room. The world is the assignment.

What is short-term mission?

When the Bible says "go ye into all the world," the idea of going is leaving your comfort zone to carry the Gospel somewhere else: leaving your house to reach your street, your city to reach another city, or your state to reach another state. That is the essence of missions: leaving comfort to preach Christ to someone who needs to hear.

We cannot all relocate permanently into a community as long-term missionaries. Short-term mission lets every believer still do the work of missions, in a shorter, focused window, while pouring in real effort to see lasting results.

Who can go?

Short-term mission is not reserved for pastors, ministers or full-time missionaries. It is for:

• The student, in whatever season of study they are in.
• The professional: doctor, engineer, teacher, banker, tech worker.
• The tradesperson, artisan or entrepreneur.
• Anyone employed, self-employed or in between.

Your profession does not disqualify you from the Great Commission; it equips you to serve within it.

How Christian Mandates practises this

Christian Mandates Organization has been sending believers on short-term missions since it began in 2008. Today CMO has gospel groups in different states and cities in Nigeria, in other African nations and beyond, with ordinary believers who prepare, go and serve: two- and three-day outreaches, secondary school outreaches, one-on-one evangelism, medical outreaches and educational outreaches.

Every trip is an opportunity to preach the Gospel, see people saved, and place new believers where they can be discipled.

Jesus Campaign

Jesus Campaign is where all of this becomes practical: the Great Commission and short-term missions given a date, a place and a plan. What you have been taught in church you live out in the field, praying for the sick, preaching the Gospel, and leading people to salvation and the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

It runs every year from 17 to 23 December. For six to seven days, teams partner with local churches and believers in a community to reach it together through crusades, one-on-one evangelism, medical outreach, welfare, counselling and more. Read what Jesus Campaign is.

The mission does not end when we leave

Success is not measured only by attendance. The goal is a full journey: hear the Gospel, respond to Jesus, become a disciple, grow in the Word, join a local Christian community, and become a witness yourself. That is why partnership with local churches is central: Jesus Campaign creates the encounter, and the local church provides the home for what grows from it.

Find an upcoming short-term mission.