Contents
Mission in the Old Testament...........................................................................................1
God Sends Moses on a Mission to Egypt................................................................1
God Sends His Angel on a Mission to Help Moses.................................................1
Mission in the New Testament..........................................................................................2
The Great Commission of the Disciples..................................................................2
The Importance of Mission......................................................................................2
The Nature of God and How it Relates to Mission.........................................................3
Mission Theology in Relation to the Trinity and Evangelism.......................................3
The Trinity...............................................................................................................3
Evangelism..............................................................................................................4
Motifs of Jesus’ Mission and the Disciples’ Mission.......................................................4
Jesus’ Mission..........................................................................................................4
Disciples’ Mission...................................................................................................4
Mission Theory Relating to Everyone..............................................................................5
Missionaries.............................................................................................................5
Church leaders.........................................................................................................5
People Not in Full Time Ministry............................................................................6
Conclusion..........................................................................................................................6
Bibliography.......................................................................................................................8
ii
1
Missions all have the same common goal, which is to glorify God, but for a mission to
occur, there must be a missionary. For there to be a missionary, there must be a calling from
God. For there to be a calling from God, there must be the desire and passion from the Holy
Spirit in someone’s heart to share the gospel with those around them.
There does not have to be a lot of work involved for a mission to take place. Once
someone receives a calling from God, nothing else is needed to share the gospel with someone
else. Missions have been completed since the beginning of time and they will likely never cease.
The purpose of this paper is to explain what missions are and how they have been used
throughout time and in the Bible, as well as to show how anybody can be a missionary.
Mission in the Old Testament
God Sends Moses on a Mission to Egypt
In the times of Exodus, God’s people were experiencing great hardships. In Egypt, they
were being used as slaves, being beaten, and inhumanely treated. God then spoke to Moses
through a burning bush saying, “I have indeed heard the cry of my people, and I see how the
Egyptians are oppressing them. Now I am sending you to the king of Egypt so that you can lead
my people out of his country.”
Moses was no one special, in fact, he even questioned God in choosing him for the task.
But God responded to Moses telling him that he will always be with him, for God always has a
plan and he will see that it is executed.
God Sends His Angel on a Mission to Help Moses
Not only did God send Moses on the previously mentioned mission, but he sent one of
his angels as well. God uses the angels to help the mission come to fruition, and in this case, the
2
angel was sent to protect Moses and to ensure that he made it to his destination. God told Moses,
“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the
place I have prepared.1
It is important to remember that God not only sends those of his earthly creation on
missions, but those of the heavenly realm as well. This shows just how large God sees the whole
picture. Both those of Earth and Heaven are required to fulfill God’s duty.
Mission in the New Testament
The Great Commission of the Disciples
One of the greatest missions throughout all creation was that of the Great Commission.
Jesus called upon his disciples and told them to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”2 The impact of this single
mission is what literally changed the world as we know it. His disciples went to all edges of the
land to preach the gospel, and in turn, caused an everlasting chain reaction of discipleship.
The Importance of Mission
Romans chapter 10 speaks of how important missions are for every person on this planet
to be exposed to scripture and see the kingdom of Heaven.
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on
the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they
have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how
can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of
those who bring good news!3
1 Exodus 23:20 (New International Version).
2 Matthew 28:19.
3 Romans 10:13-15.
3
Someone can't reach the kingdom of Heaven without knowing who God is. It is up to
every believer in Christ to spread the good news as much as possible, to every person they meet.
The scripture tells believers that it is up to them to ensure that everyone makes it to Heaven.
Every mission essentially has the same significant purpose: to spread the word of God and create
more believers.
The Nature of God and How it Relates to Mission
The nature of God is not physical. God is a powerful entity with the ability to do things
that are beyond imagination and resides in an unfathomable realm, being everywhere and
everything. God lives inside of all living people and things, and that is what provides the drive to
do mission. People were given the fruits of the spirit as gifts that were meant to make mission
possible.
Mission Theology in Relation to the Trinity and Evangelism
The Trinity
Mission is impossible to do without the Trinity. The Father, who created everything in
existence, is the reason why mission is essential. “Mission is who God is and all theology is
fundamentally missional because biblical theology reveals God as a missionary God”.4
The Son, Jesus, is the teacher who sacrificed himself and showed everyone how to be a
missionary. “In the divine economy of the transcendent Trinity, the Father sends the Son. In the
immanent Trinity’s activity in human history, Jesus sends the Church. He sends us to do what he
did. He sends us to live and to love.”5
4 Hester, Kevin. “Missions and the Trinity.” Free Will Baptist Theology. September 8, 2015.
5 Ibid.
4
The Holy Spirit, the spiritual essence that lives inside everyone, is the drive to do the
work of a missionary. “The Spirit calls us into service and empowers us to fulfill it through the
activity of the Holy Spirit.”6
Evangelism
Mission and evangelism go hand in hand. Evangelism is the process of spreading the
gospel through preaching to the public to create followers in Christ. “Although the gospel is the
focal point of all evangelism, evangelism involves making and maturing disciples through the
ministry of the Word of God.”7 In other words, evangelism is the goal of missions.
Motifs of Jesus’ Mission and the Disciples’ Mission
Jesus’ Mission
During the time Jesus spent on Earth, his mission was to spread the word of God and
show the acts of God through himself to bring people closer to the kingdom of Heaven. “His
purpose on earth went beyond just teaching and performing miracles; it was a divine plan to
reconcile mankind with God through the gospel of Christ and the resurrection.”8
Disciples’ Mission
Once Jesus was crucified and resurrected, the mission made a shift. The mission was not
only about bringing people closer to God, but then “centered around the resurrection of Christ,
6 Ibid.
7 “Evangelism and Missions.” Ligonier Ministries. August 12, 2021.
8 Davis, Ethan. “What Was Jesus’ Mission? Unveiling the Ultimate Purpose! ’ Jesus Salvation.” Jesus
Salvation ’ Experience the Miracle of Redemption. November 20, 2023.
5
provided a way for people around the world to receive forgiveness and eternal life through the
gospel”.9
Throughout the New Testament, the disciples had to change their mission from being that
which paralleled Christ’s to one that focused entirely on Christ himself. The disciples had to
teach everyone the words that Jesus spoke to the masses and what they meant, as well as
spreading the news of Christ’s resurrection.
Mission Theory Relating to Everyone
Missionaries
Missionaries are the ones that are thought of when discussing missions. It is in the name,
so it makes sense. Missionaries are described as people who display their faith to others in need,
whether that be through worship, service, evangelism, volunteer work, etc. They often go out
into the community or to foreign nations and share the gospel with those who less informed.
Missionaries rely on mission theory because it is the whole purpose of why they exist.
Missionaries must study how to do mission and practice every day to ensure that the right
message is spread across the world.
Church leaders
Church leaders need mission theory just as much as missionaries. Although church
leaders tend to remain inside the church, there is still an abundance of people they can encounter,
which means that mission work is still essential. People willingly come to church so that they
can be exposed to the word of God and be surrounded by like-minded people, and the church
leaders need to be the reason that people keep wanting to come back. Unlike missionaries, who
go out in the world in search of those who need the gospel, church leaders have people come to
9 Ibid.
6
them when they need the gospel. Church leaders are the fuel needed to recharge the batteries of
the everyday person.
People Not in Full Time Ministry
“While we are all expected to preach the Gospel, not everyone is called to go far from
home to do it,”10 and that is something that everyone needs to remember when thinking about
mission. The everyday person, those who are not in full time ministry, have the opportunity to do
mission just as much as anyone else. The normal person comes into more contact with people
than anyone else through their day-to-day lives, and every encounter is a chance to do mission
work. Most people probably feel like they need to be specifically chosen by God to be a
missionary, to feel that calling, but the reality is that a person can be a missionary so long as they
want to in their mind. The only thing stopping a person who is not in full time ministry from
doing mission work is their motivation and self-discipline.
Conclusion
Anyone can do mission work if they want to. Missions have existed since the beginning
of time and will last till the end of all days. There will always be a mission to do, another person
to reach, another nation to preach to. There is no reason why the average person should sit back
and watch those involved in the church save all the souls when there are so many close to home
who have yet to be enlightened by the word of Christ. Moses spent his years doing mission, as
did Jesus, and then his disciples. Now is the time for everyone else to get involved, together, as
followers of God.
10 Mahoney, Kelli. “Find out What It Means to Be a Christian Missionary.” Learn Religions. Learn
Religions, January 17, 2018.
7
Bibliography
Davis, Ethan. “What Was Jesus’ Mission? Unveiling the Ultimate Purpose! ’ Jesus Salvation.”
Jesus Salvation ’ Experience the Miracle of Redemption. Last modified November 20,
2023. Accessed March 2, 2024. https://jesussalvation.com/what-was-jesus-mission-
unveiling-the-ultimate-purpose/.
“Evangelism and Missions.” Ligonier Ministries. Last modified August 12, 2021. Accessed
March 2, 2024. https://www.ligonier.org/guides/evangelism-and-
missions#:~:text=Evangelism%20and%20missions%20are%20ways%20by%20which
%20the,the%20message%20of%20the%20gospel%20among%20the%20nations.
Hester, Kevin. “Missions and the Trinity.” Free Will Baptist Theology. Last modified September
8, 2015. Accessed March 2, 2024. https://www.fwbtheology.com/missions-and-the-
trinity/#:~:text=Mission%20is%20who%20God%20is%20and%20%E2%80%9Call
%20theology,He%20sends%20us%20to%20live%20and%20to%20love.
Mahoney, Kelli. “Find out What It Means to Be a Christian Missionary.” Learn Religions. Learn
Religions, January 17, 2018. Last modified January 17, 2018. Accessed March 2, 2024.
https://www.learnreligions.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-christian-missionary-712676.
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