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Can you imagine a Chris an faith without the Great Commission? Jesus would have simply comforted those rst disciples with the as- surance that their sins were forgiven, that death was conquered, and that they would have his eternal presence with them, but he would not have prompted them to do anything more. They would s ll have an amazing story to tell about the work of God through Jesus Christ but would have no reason to tell it. It would have been a private blessing they reaped for their faithfulness to Jesus during his earthly ministry.

Without the commission, Pentecost might never have happened and the church might never have formed. The disciples would sim- ply have lived as a gracious community, sharing their common joy with each other un l each passed into glory, and leaving the world des tute of ever knowing the gospel.

As impossible as that scenario sounds, a great many of our con- grega ons live as if this is what happened. They focus on the people who are already part of the church, without giving much thought about how to go and make disciples of Jesus Christ in the world around them. As Ed Stetzer and Eric Geiger put it, “Chris ans are not following Christ, and we are making no di erence in our neigh- borhoods, much less the world.