The Acts 29 National Conference 2015 is all about Healthy Churches.
Guy Mason (City on a Hill) gave the first talk: Healthy Churches Are On Mission.
It was a great way to start the conference with a clear Christ-centred and gospel-focused call to build mission-driven churches.
Guy preached from the Great Commission in Matthew 28
[16] Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. [17] And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. [18] And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] 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, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20 ESV)
Guy spent time considering what it means for Jesus to have “All authority in heaven and on earth” (verse 18). This was a powerful summary of everything that has gone before in Matthew’s gospel: the birth, life, ministry, teaching, miracles, death, burial, resurrection and appearance. Jesus is not just an ordinary man, he is the great God-man.
If all authority has been given to Jesus, whatever happens after v18 is tremendously important. What is the call of the One who has all authority? “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations”
The command of the risen Jesus to his disciples is to MAKE DISCIPLES.
Three ways I was challenged in this talk:
- To celebrate when people become disciples and to also celebrate when people keep going and growing as disciples.
- The centrality of the word of God in “teaching them to observe…” It’s easy to forget the word in a desire to be relevant to culture – this is madness! Without the word, we have no mission, no ministry.
- As we run the race and seek to make disciples I loved being reminded that Jesus is with his disciples until the end of the age. Jesus is with me and running with me.