Disciple Making Shift #5 – From Competing Goals to One End Goal

This article on shifting to a singular end goal is Part 5 in a 5-Part series on Jesus-style disciple making. Here’s the Intro, Shift #1, #2, #3, and #4.

In our final article, we arrive at question 3: What is Our End Goal?

Once again, here’s the passage we’ve been going through:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.” – Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20)

Based on this passage, what did Jesus say is our end goal? Our end goal is found in these words: “Go and make disciples of all nations.”

Our End Goal: All Nations (People Groups) Discipled

We have one end in mind: finishing the Great Commission in our generation. We do whatever it takes to see all 17,441 People Groups with an indigenous church that is making disciples of King Jesus to the glory of God.

Our problem is the church in North America isn’t focused on this singular end goal.

There are roughly 7,414 Unreached People Groups remaining. That’s over 3.23 billion people who are living, dying, and spending eternity separated from God.

And yet for every $100,000 that Christians in North America make, we give $1 to reach the last 7,000 People Groups with the gospel. The Traveling Team found that “we spend more money on our pets’ Halloween costumes than finishing the Great Commission.”

Here’s the question we must begin to ask. What’s it going to take to finish the Great Commission in our generation?

If we want to return to Jesus-style disciple making, then we must shift from many competing goals to a singular end goal.

Shift 5: From many competing goals to a singular end goal.

What would happen if every person, family, and church had a singular vision to see all nations discipled? What would happen if we all prayed for, gave money to, welcomed into our context, and go to the last 7,000 Unreached People Groups? What if the decision-making filter for every church was if this will help finish the Great Commission?

Just imagine, what could happen if we all had the end goal of seeing all nations (People Groups) discipled in our generation?

A church member’s end goal is that their family goes to church. A disciple maker’s end goal is that the gospel goes to the end of the earth.

How do we start to make this shift?

If you want to make the shift of seeing all nations discipled but don’t know practically how to get started, here’s one tool to help you.

The Unreached of the Day App (Joshua Project Resource)

Why the Unreached of the Day app? The purpose of the Unreached of the Day app is to help you pray for the last Unreached People Groups.

What is the Unreached of the Day app? An app that gives you daily prayer prompts for the last Unreached People Groups.

How do we use the Unreached of the Day app? Go to the app store, download the app, open the app daily, use the prayer prompts to guide your prayers.

Here’s a review of where we’ve been in this series. If we want to return to Jesus-style disciple making, it will require restoring the identity, lifestyle, and vision that Jesus taught His followers:

Question #1: Jesus, who are we?

…We shift from being church members to being disciple makers (Shift #1).

Question #2: Jesus, how do we live?

…We shift from going to church to going to the lost (Shift #2).

….We shift from professionals reaching the lost to everyone reaching the lost (Shift #3).

…We shift from teaching information to teaching obedience (Shift #4).

Question #3: Jesus, what is our end goal?

…From many competing goals to a singular end goal.

The time to begin making these shifts is now.