“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.”

Matthew 28:19-20

One of my favorite things at my home church is when we get to have baptism Sunday. Baptism is a public declaration of the choice to follow Christ in your life. It’s an incredible picture of our walk with Christ, dying to self and laying down your life for a bigger purpose. I absolutely love the Sunday’s where this happens, because you get to hear the stories from the lives of people all around us in the church. This last week where we had baptism was one of the best days, because I was given the opportunity to baptize my little brother. Now he isn’t my brother by blood, but the brother of one of my best friends. I’ve known since he was in third grade, and in the past year have been able to hang out and mentor Jack. Then a few weeks ago he asked me if I would baptize him, he told me that he a had made a commitment to Christ, but it was time to make it known. That’s the cool thing about baptism, it shows that we aren’t turning back. Even when life gets hard, we have this moment in time where we make it public with our intentions, and we have fellow believers help us in the hard times.

Baptism reminds me of the great commission we have all been given by Christ. We are called to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them, and then teaching them how to walk with God on a daily basis. You see, we are called to reach out. We have been commissioned to spread the love of the gospel. We have been called to create followers. We are called to teach others what a relationship with our creator is truly like. It starts with us, we have been created for a greater purpose, and our purpose is to build the kingdom and encourage others. We have an opportunity to reach out and make disciples.

For our neighbors.

All too often we can forget about the people who live around us, we have neighbors that need to hear the word of God just as much as anyone. We are in a state of unrest in our country, we are dealing with hatred towards others, simply because of the way they look or their status. We are called to make disciples, that includes our neighbors. The people we walk through life with each day. People like Jack, people we have known forever, they need the love of Christ just as much as anyone else. Our friends, family, and co-workers all need the power of the gospel. There is no better feeling than being there for someone close to you and have them make a choice to lay down their life and follow God. We will one day stand in heaven with our neighbors, of different colors and backgrounds, standing as one. We are called to support our brothers and sisters in Christ and fight for our neighbors. This may mean taking a knee in support of someone oppressed, fighting back racism and classism, and laying down our personal needs for the needs of your neighbors. Make disciples of all nations, make disciples for your neighbors.

For the world.

Not only are we to make disciples of the people close to us, we also have the responsibility to reach the world for Christ. Being in America, we are incredibly blessed by the resources available, but many others are not as fortunate as we have become. We have an opportunity to partner with local churches across the globe and equip their pastors to reach their native nations. My girlfriend leaves to go to YWAM (Youth with a mission) soon, and the program is designed to train and equip young people to reach the nations. She is going to Belize for three months to train and then to an unknown mission location for two months. We as believers are called to make disciples of our world. We are called to join with our brothers and sisters and reach the nations, baptizing them in the spirit and teaching them to walk with Christ.

We have a great commission as a follower of Christ. It seems like a huge task, but God made us for this. He made us in his image, we can work together to reach everyone around us. For our neighbors, for the world. We have a chance to make followers of Christ and help them step into all God has for them. As I got to baptize my little brother, I was able to be a part of his story and help him step into his future. That night, he sent me a text. It was very meaningful to me and I’ll cherish is forever. The final words of the text said, “I can’t wait to see you in heaven dude, it’ll be so awesome.” That is such a powerful statement that each of us can have as we make disciples all around us. We’ll be able to one day see the people we reached in heaven, and it’ll be so awesome.

So, make disciples, for our neighbors and for the world, baptizing them, and teaching them how to have an authentic relationship with Christ.

God is with us ‘till the very end.

-Joshua Thomas