The Church has a mission from Jesus. When Jesus ascended into heaven he gave one final charge to his followers.

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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 all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18–20

Jesus commanded his followers to go and preach the gospel and invite others to repent and believe in Jesus, join his people who make up the church, and embrace a life of discipleship. This is not just a call to the professional minister, but to every Christian. Every Christian is to be a disciple who makes disciples who will make disciples. This means Christians will be engaging non-Christians to speak to them about Jesus and his Gospel. It means that they will help those who become Christians and are baptized into Jesus’ Church to grow in their faith. They will help them be faithful disciples who make other disciples.

The Church is to do this with the world in mind. Christ is sending his people to the ends of the earth to proclaim this great salvation. But to carry out this mission, we need the resources that Jesus has won for us and provides for us, namely, the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. 

“Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” – Luke 24:44–49

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” – Acts 1:8

The Holy Spirit empowers his Church to tell others about Jesus and his gospel. One of the reasons we may not be sensing the Holy Spirit’s power in our lives is because we are not engaging in this mission. We are not doing what requires the empowering presence of God’s Spirit. 

We are not commanded to only share the message of Jesus, but we are also called to display the mercy of Jesus. Jesus calls us to demonstrate his kindness to those in need and to fight against injustice, cruelty, and oppression in all forms. In Matthew 25, Jesus speaks of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, helping the sick, and visiting those unjustly imprisoned. We are especially to do this for those who are believers in Jesus, but we are also to show this kind of concern for all people (Galatians 6:10).