“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.”
Go. It’s a word that invokes action. It is a spring. You can't hear “go” and stay seated. Going requires time and motion. It is hopeful and powerful.
Gospel Coffee seeks to fulfill this mission, this great commission. We believe that this - to go, to make disciples, to baptize, and to teach - is what we’ve been called to. And truly what each of us in the family of God have been called to. It looks different for each one of us. For some, it looks like going into their neighborhoods and teaching. For others, going to their schools, workplaces, stores, and even their own houses. This is not a one-size-fits-all commandment. But it is a command for all of us who follow Christ.
For Gospel Coffee, “go” is a word with deep meaning and we love getting to see it come alive in our lives. It is truly something special to be a part of what God is doing and we actively feel like His promise, to be with us always, is true. We know that He is with us. And we see Him working. Going for us has looked like serving in a local church, visiting neighboring cities and communities and refreshing them, and traveling across the world to preach the gospel and partner with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
I’d love to break down how we came to see Matthew 28:19-20 as a big part of the ministry. We actually didn’t intend for it to be. We didn’t sit and fast and pray for a ‘theme verse’ of Gospel Coffee. However, fasting and praying would have been a very biblical approach to making this decision.
So we didn’t pray on a theme verse. But the Bible is still God’s Word, and God’s Word is true, which means this verse applies to us. Before Gospel Coffee was a nonprofit, our team was still operating in another ministry as a team. In 2022, we went through a lot of transitions. A big one was that the summer discipleship program wasn’t happening. This was both exciting and shocking.
There had been a discipleship program for the past 11 or so years. And suddenly, there wouldn’t be one. It changed a lot of things. It also opened the possibilities for other things the Lord had for us to do. Our team looked for open doors. We reached out to a few places to host events for their youth groups and to refresh their ministry staff. During that first summer of 2022, we went on camping retreats, led worship, and hosted youth weekend events for churches. It was so amazing and refreshing for us! We thought it would be a one-time summer thing, but thankfully God had other plans and kept opening doors. And we are still doing it! God has continually made connections for us to come alongside churches and people who love God to support and refresh and encourage their body of believers, in a variety of ways including leading worship or hosting an event. We love it! God has definitely blessed us!
Then He directed us to start Gospel Coffee. This just opened more doors. We still get to lead worship at churches and share testimony of what God is doing. And slowly but surely, we started to see.
We were going. Anywhere and everywhere. Inside the nation and internationally. We were teaching. Teaching about the goodness of God. Giving testimony of how God has provided and how He can provide for others too. Sharing the gospel, in workshops, in prisons, with youths. We were baptizing. As we shared the good news, the Word of God, and life change, people wanted to give their lives to God and wanted to be joined with Christ in baptism.
What a beautiful response of obedience to Christ. We were making disciples. Everywhere we went we talked about following Christ as a disciple, with whole hearts. For the next month, we will be doing a mini discipleship program. Britnee and I (Miki) have desired to host foundations Bible study for a few years and we have tried a couple of times. But each time it has not worked out. We also have been so blessed by our parents and other mentors in our lives raising us up in the foundations of the Word and the foundations of our identities in Christ. Over the past three years, I have dove headlong into who the Lord has created me to be and what He wants to use me for. From this, the Lord has put on my heart to share with others and help them discover the way He created them. And I believe God has given us all something to share. Something, some part of our story that is meant to be told to the world. Yes, it may be messy. Yes, it may be hard. But through God you overcome. Through God, you are here today. So often little stories and moments and words from others impact our lives so intensely that it literally alters the course of our life. We do have something to share with the world.
So this is how we came about doing the Great Commission. Simply saying yes to the next step where God directed. And we love it. He knows His children. He knows our design and the way that He created us to thrive. Some seasons look like pruning. Some look like winter. Some look like storms. And some look like blooming.
So no matter what season you are, be there with God and ask Him to be with you.
Shalom from the Gospel Coffee Crew
Opmerkingen