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How to Become a Great Commission Church

February 4, 2026

By Rich Peterson

Last year, I invested time and effort in taking the Kairos Course through Simply Mobilizing. Every church should know about it!

KAIROS is a foundational missions course (nine weeks in length).

“It brings out God’s heart for all the nations of the world and His desire to use His people to be a blessing to them. KAIROS is designed to educate, inspire, and challenge Christians to meaningful participation in God’s heart for all the nations. It is a tool God is using to help transform the worldview of believers, so they see themselves as having been blessed in order to be a blessing to all people groups.”

As Church Relations Officer, I found the following to be of exceptional value regarding how a local church can become a Great Commission church. The following eight practical steps are by no means exhaustive, but they can serve as a starting point for local congregations.

  1. Every Great Commission church needs a clearly defined missions team.
    • Form a ‘missions team’ that has church leadership, participation, and approval.
    • As much as possible, include a representative from each segment of the local church on the ‘team’, such as youth, children, worship team, women’s and men’s ministries, senior adult ministries, etc.
  2. Integrate Missions into Discipleship.
    • Include missions as part of the church’s discipleship program. This ensures that everyone in the church has the same understanding and commitment to cross-cultural mission. Here is where a course like Kairos, Perspectives, or other similar courses could be of great use!
    • Courses like Kairos or Perspectives help align the church around a biblical understanding of the Great Commission.
  3. Identify Your Church’s Unique Role in Global Missions.
    • Discuss ways that the church can play a meaningful and effective role in cross-cultural mission in keeping with the opportunities the church has or could develop.
    • This may include local missions with diaspora communities and internationally in the least-reached regions of the world.
    • Also, be mindful of the mission initiatives already underway by the people of your local church.
  4. Prioritize Prayer for the Least-Reached.
    • Encourage the congregation to pray regularly for the least-reached peoples.
    • Utilize such resources as:
    • When a church prays consistently for the nations, hearts begin to align with God’s heart.
  5. Encourage Direct, Personal Giving.
    • Allow church members to be personally involved in intentional, bottom-line support by financially supporting a missionary or a least-reached people group mission project. (Need some ideas? Reach out to me directly at (r.peterson@worldventure.com)
  6. Build Strategic Mission Partnerships
    • Connect with agencies and mission organizations whose vision you share.
    • This may be Bible translation, reaching the least-reached people groups, diaspora ministries, etc. Develop close relationships with these agencies for mutual benefit. (Again, reach out to me if you need assistance; after all, my middle name is ‘Relations’).
  7. Create Clear Pathways for Involvement
    • Create clear pathways for members to become meaningfully involved.
    • WorldVenture can help you with this as it pertains to training opportunities, short-term and long-term opportunities, giving and praying for mission projects, and WorldVenture personnel.
    • At WorldVenture, we help churches create these pathways — from initial exploration to long-term global service.
  8. Develop Cooperative Partnerships with Other Churches
    • Develop partnerships in mission with other churches in your area, mission agencies, and organizations.
    • Your church is called to send Global Workers, but you don’t have to do it alone.
Becoming a Great Commission Church Starts with Intentionality

Every church says it believes in the Great Commission.

But Great Commission churches are built intentionally.

If your church is ready to take the next step in global mission engagement, WorldVenture would love to help.

👉 Explore WorldVenture.com/ChurchRelations
👉 Connect with us to discuss how your church can grow in global impact. Take the Church Assessment.

The nations are not reached accidentally.
They are reached by churches that decide to engage.

 

Discussion Questions:

On your own personal social media, write a response to this blog post and tag us. Or leave a comment on our social media. 

  • How does your church currently reflect God’s heart for all nations in visible ways?
  • How is your church sharing stories of impact with the congregation?
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