The Great Commission is the marching orders for every Christian. alum

 

Matthew 28:19-20 "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."

 

Every congregation must plan ahead with faith and vision. Jesus has taught us the power of setting goals. I am still unable to understand the prejudice of people who do not set goals. Jesus, with a handful of men, not one of them with a college degree, set the greatest goal the world has ever known. He said, "I want you to go to all the world." … You cannot set a bigger goal than that.

 

There is no room for boredom. There is no room for stagnation. There is no room for deadness. Jesus gave us a goal that will always keep us reaching and growing and stretching until the Gospel is taken into all the world, every creature confesses the name of Jesus, ever knee bows, and every tongue confesses. The great tragedy of the local church is that sometimes we spend all of our time only keeping house, taking care of current business. But by the grace of God, we must plan ahead and vision.…

 

The truth of it is the church cannot coast. When a church lives in the past, instead of thanking God for the blessings today and planning ahead, it is an old dead church. There isn't any such thing as coasting in the work of the Lord.

 

The tragedy of coasting is that it is never up. It is always down. It is never for the better. It is always for the worse.

 

Coasting is always down hill. It takes no effort. It is a mockery. It promises such ease. Nobody gets upset coasting. We struggle uphill. We struggle swimming against the tide. But it is the only way to growth.