Matthew 28:18–20:

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”

The vision of our Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Ir. Niko Njotorahardjo for the GBI Jl. Jend. Gatot Subroto church family in 2026 is The Year of the Great Commission. Many people think that the Great Commission is only about evangelism. Yes, evangelism is one part of it, but it is not the whole of it. The focus of the Great Commission is to make disciples of all nations, i.e. people who learn to obey God’s commands, not merely converts. If we look at the New Testament, the word “Christian” appears only three times, whereas the word “disciple” is used more than 260 times. Have we become disciples of Christ, or are we merely part of the crowd?

Many of us may think, “Evangelism is not for me—how can I share the gospel if I am not good at speaking?” Let us look at the condition of the disciples when the Lord Jesus gave them the Great Commission in verse 17: “When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.” Jesus gave the Great Commission to all His disciples, including those who still doubted! Ps. Hendrik Timadius said, “Jesus did not wait for their doubts to disappear, because the basis of the sending is not the readiness of the disciples, but the authority of the risen Christ.” Apostle Paul explains that after Christ was raised from the dead, He was “seated at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,” (Ephesians 1:20 – 22). Knowing that all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Christ, and He will soon come as King to judge the world, how does this affect the way we treat Jesus today?

Therefore, in carrying out God’s commands—including the Great Commission—God is not looking for capability, but availability. As Pastor Daniel has shared on Workers’ Prayer Meeting in January, we will experience God’s power in the field of ministry. There are many testimonies of the Lord’s disciples experiencing God’s power on the mission field, including when BIC held a mission trip to the Philippines several years ago. Because Christ had the highest authority in heaven and on earth, we share now (in part) in Christ’s authority as we preach the gospel, and we will later share it fully (Ephesians 2:6; 6:12).

The Apostle Paul said to the church in Philippi: “For it is God who works in you both to will and to act according to His good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13). May the Holy Spirit flood our hearts with His love (Romans 5:5), so that we increasingly long to see many souls come to know the Lord Jesus. And may the Holy Spirit also empower us to be witnesses of Christ wherever God places us (Acts 1:8). Amen.