The Vital Role of Women in The Great Commission

Recently, I was reflecting on the real meaning of being a disciple of Jesus and was reminded of the childhood game Follow the Leader. You probably remember it—the leader sets the pace and everyone else mimics their actions. If they step over a rock, you step over the rock; if they wave their arms, you wave your arms. The objective is simple: follow the leader as precisely as possible.

As disciple-makers passionate about seeing the Great Commission furthered, we often start with an admirable big-picture vision like "reaching India" or "impacting the Arab world." These massive ambitions stir our hearts, fuel prayer, and mobilize action. However, until we define a more focused entry point, the overwhelming scale can leave us unsure of where to begin.

Simply put, the Metric Black Hole is the idea that there are many things that we do for which we do not have an accurate measurement of how they contribute to the bottom line.

We’d been on the road in South Asia for three weeks. We’d covered thousands of kilometers and met hundreds of people. The purpose was to hear their stories and experience the life of a movement of God.

I realized, “Wow, this Jesus guy had some pretty amazing strategies as well.” Since then, as I’ve read Scripture, additional senses of awe and wonder have helped lock me into being a Great Commission Christian for life. One of the first dominoes to fall was realizing that the Great Commission can and will be completed.

The movement of people to Christ in South Asia over the past two decades is truly a work of God. Are they still happening?

One balmy summer evening, I was prayer walking with my friend through a predominantly Muslim area in my city. It wasn’t the smell of street food and masala chai or the horns of the gridlocked vehicles that overwhelmed me the most; it was the sheer amount of people bustling through the tight streets who I knew had never - and likely would never - hear the good news about Jesus that hit me the hardest at that moment.

I remember the early days of walking with Jesus: Happily rising early to meet with Him through His Word. It was always a source of joy. Fast forward to about my eighth year of pursuing movement on the field in Japan. I was rudely defending movement principles to believers who were in different tribes than myself.

Today, there is more qualitative and quantitative research on the core missionary task than ever. Those not involved in research or directly receiving the information often do not fully understand the purpose, benefit, or process of good missiological research.