If you search the internet for “How to Do Ministry,” you will find thousands of websites, articles, and podcasts that will give you all sorts of ideas. When I first started in vocational ministry, I devoured these resources. It seemed like every week I came across some sort of new hack that unlocked the way I understood ministry. However, eventually this “hack” would no longer work, and it was back to scouring resources to find the next key for fruitful ministry.
We are blessed to live in an age where information is readily available. However, this can also be a negative. With all the material I consumed, I quickly found myself drowning in information overload. It became paralysis by analysis. Should I focus on being a content producer, someone who crafted high-quality messages to be consumed by the masses? Or should my energy be directed towards being a “holy” event planner, someone who sought to gather the largest crowd possible through programs and activities? How on earth was I supposed to schedule my workweek when there was so much to be done and so much crucial work to prioritize?
While we should work hard in preparing our messages, and while we should think rightly about how we create events and environments for people to attend, you do not have to go chasing after the wind to discover your task. We already have our job description and responsibilities, and they are found in the Word of God. Specifically (and surprisingly), what helped me clarify my role and streamline my schedule was looking at the original biblical languages. The tools I learned in my Biblical Greek and Hebrew classes not only helped me understand God’s Word, but also helped me develop a philosophy of ministry that shapes everything I do.
What I want to show you is that the emphasis of Scripture should be the emphasis of ministry, and we better understand what the text emphasizes by studying it in its original language. While there are multiple passages we could examine, I want to show you how this plays out in one passage specifically: The Great Commission, Matthew 28:19-20.
The Main Goal
The final marching orders Jesus gives His disciples in Matthew’s Gospel are, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you” (CSB). But what does Jesus really mean by this? Is Jesus giving us a choice, where we can choose either to go, make disciples, baptize, or teach? Or should we seek to do all these? Are these ideas unrelated, or connected?
The Greek text helps us answer these questions. While there are four verbs, there is only one main command: μαθητεύσατε, “Make discipes.” With this imperative, Jesus emphasizes disciple-making. Therefore, the top of our to-do list as ministers should always be disciple-making, or helping others follow Jesus in every aspect of their lives, for the rest of their lives.
Accomplishing the Main Goal
But how do we do this? Here is where the rest of the text comes in. While there is one main command, the other three verbs are participles. They are still important, but in this context the participles qualify the imperative—the imperative tells us what to do, and the participles tell us how. To put it simply, we make disciples by baptizing them and teaching them. Furthermore, making disciples should occur everywhere we go. There should be intentionality in our lives knowing that Jesus sends us into the world. It starts with sharing the gospel with those who need Christ, and it also includes bringing them into the life of the church through baptism, as well as continuing to teach them how the gospel applies to every moment of their lives. This is to be the aim for all believers, and as leaders in the church, our ministries should prioritize making disciples who make disciples.
This means that seeking to grow baptism numbers is not the main goal. Baptism is not the end of our disciple-making efforts; it’s the beginning. Likewise, teaching is not simply for the sake of producing content. Teaching is for the sake of helping believers further grow in Christ as His disciples. I’ve found that when I keep disciple-making as the centerpiece of my weekly schedule, I’m far better able to weigh which tasks, meetings, and projects need to take priority and which ones can wait their turn. Keeping the ultimate goal in mind brings so much clarity and order to my to-do list.
A Final Word
The Greek shows us one other key aspect about making disciples: it is an active command, something we do, not something that’s done to us. Not only that, but the participles “go,” “baptizing,” and “teaching” are also all active. Why highlight this? Because making disciples takes effort; it doesn’t happen passively.. So, we work hard in making disciples. We work hard in making sure our churches’ goal in everything is to make disciples.How we use our finances and facilities, how we schedule our days, weeks, and years—disciple-making must be our emphasis and our priority every step of the way.
We work hard, but it is well worth the effort. Notice how Jesus bookends the Great Commission. He first declares that “all authority in heaven and on earth” has been given to Him. This means that there is no power that can match Christ’s. While we work hard to make disciples, we work hard trusting in His power. The very last thing Jesus says comes after the command to make disciples, and it is a promise: that Jesus will be with us “always, to the end of the age.” We do not labor alone. We labor with the Son of God Himself.
The emphasis of Scripture as a whole is that Jesus is the Messiah. The emphasis of the Great Commission is that we must make disciples who follow Jesus as their Messiah. However, our mission to make disciples isn’t simply so that others would enjoy Jesus. Rather we grow in enjoying the presence and power of Jesus as we labor to make disciples.
Just like making disciples, learning biblical languages requires hard work. Studying Greek might be tedious at times, but it also brings clarity for the task at hand.
Don’t pursue a ministry agenda that won’t last. Commit to Christ’s global and eternal mission by making disciples of Christ, and allow that central priority to shape every moment of your schedule.
