Our Global Mission: PEACE on Earth

And then he said, “Go to the ends of the earth.” That means go to everybody else. Love demands that we move beyond our comfort zone. Love demands that we go to people of different backgrounds, languages, and cultures. Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19a).

What are we supposed to do when we go for Jesus Christ? We’re supposed to do what Jesus did. He gave us the model. What did he do? Jesus didn’t just preach. He also cared for the oppressed, the poor, the sick, the aged, the blind, and the lepers. He cared about the mentally ill, the orphans, the widows, the imprisoned, and the homeless. Jesus cares about the people that the world wants to forget.

The biggest problems the world faced in Jesus’ day are still the biggest problems the world faces today: spiritual emptiness, egocentric leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy. I call these the five global giants. These are problems that affect not just millions but billions of people. And how did Jesus take on these giants? He did five things: Jesus planted the church to reconcile men to God and to one another. He equipped servant leaders by training his disciples to serve rather than be served. He assisted the poor. He cared for the sick. And he educated the next generation

I believe these are the five things Jesus wants us to do today as his followers. He wants us to go into all the world and Plant faith communities, Equip servant leaders, Assist the poor, Care for the sick, and Educate the next generation. These five things make up what I call the PEACE Plan.

The PEACE Plan is a grassroots, church-to-church strategy. It’s a lay movement designed to mobilize ordinary church members in small groups that are empowered by God to do normal tasks that can make a difference in the world. The PEACE Plan is about all believers in every church doing all of the things Jesus told us to do. It’s about churches partnering with churches to take on the global giants in their communities. It’s about turning an audience into an army, turning consumers into contributors, and turning spectators into participators.

P: Plant Faith Communities

If we’re going to share the love of God with billions of people, we must help congregations in their ministry to the disaffected and overlooked. We must also help start new faith communities around the world.

The Bible says in Romans 10:14, “Before people can ask the Lord for help, they must believe in him; and before they can believe in him, they must hear about him; and for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them” (NCV).

E: Equip Leaders

All around the world, there are leaders who abuse their power. Amazingly, many of these leaders refuse to use their power for the good of their own people; instead they use it for themselves.