Looking for an Exciting Small Group? (Part 2)

In Part 1 we defined "Mission Communities" and discussed how the Holy Spirit forms these communities as a testimony of Christ in the world. Lets now examine how the Holy Spirit uses Mission Communities to fulfill Jesus' "Great Commission" (His command in Matthew 28:18-20 to "make disciples" throughout the world).

In this commission to His twelve disciples (and to us), Jesus boldly states, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, into all the world and make disciples..." First Jesus states the scope of His authority--it is indeed limitless. Then, upon this basis, Jesus actually extends his very own authority to His disciples. By sending the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1:8), Jesus is authorizing his disciples to do the same thing He has been doing (making disciples). As a result, when believers "go into all the world" they can know that they are Jesus official representatives. They should see themselves as ones who have received a personal commissioning from Jesus. How encouraging!

"Disciples" are people that have come into a relationship with Christ and are now His "learners." They are learning all that entails knowing Christ and living the Christian life. To "make disciples", according to Matthew 28:19-20, involves three activities: "going" (which implies evangelism), "baptizing" (bringing new believers into the fold of a local church), and "teaching to obey" (instructing them in basic doctrines and practices of the Christian life). How are we to go about engaging in these three critical tasks?

It is also important to note that this Great Commission was given in the context of a community of disciples. Each of Jesus' commands in this passage (such as "go" and "make disciples") are in the plural. Jesus was not commissioning twelve individuals to embark on twelve separate "missions." Rather, it was delivered to the disciples as a whole, so that they might proceed corporately in their mission to "make disciples" throughout the world.

Combining this with what we learned in Part 1 regarding Mission Communities, we can infer that Jesus indeed is not only continuing to "commission" us to make disciples in today's world, but also that we too should carry out our commission within the context of a local body of believers.

How might this best occur? The Holy Spirit is spoken of in the New Testament as the One who structures the church "as He wills" (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). This is how the Holy Spirit operates within "small groups" as well. By gathering and appropriating our spiritual gifts and abilities, the Holy Spirit can turn a Christ-centered small group into a Mission Community where each believer contributes to the overall "mission" that the Spirit has in mind for that group.

Next time we'll look at some practical ways a small group might go about activating its "mission" in their own community and world.