I gave a talk this week on the Great Commission and my first question to the group was:
When you hear the word mission, what comes to mind?
Adventure? Purpose? Calling?
Or maybe something heavier:
pressure, guilt, fear, exhaustion?
For many Christians, mission can quietly feel like one more thing we are failing at.
I’ll never forget one of the first “missions” Noah and I ever went on as newlyweds. We were doing an intensive theology and apologetics course, and one assignment required us to walk around a university campus approaching strangers and trying to convince them about Christ.
Honestly? It terrified me.
I still remember standing outside before sunrise, hugging each other and saying, “It’s going to be okay babe… let’s just survive this.”
At the time, mission felt intimidating and unnatural to me. I assumed “real” mission must look bold, dramatic, impressive, or public.
But over the years, I think God has gently reshaped my understanding of what mission often looks like in everyday life.
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The Great (But Not Grand) Commission
In Matthew 28, Jesus gives what we now call The Great Commission:
“Go and make disciples of all nations…”
For years, I mostly heard the emphasis on the word go. Go farther. Go bigger. Go do something significant for God.
But the heart of the passage (in the original language) is actually not mainly about relocating somewhere dramatic. The emphasis is on making disciples as you are going.
In other words:
right where God has already placed you.
For many of us, the primary place we have been sent right now is our home.
Tending the Home
Before we change the world, we are called to tend the home.
Not perfectly.
Not performatively.
But intentionally.
The atmosphere of a home matters deeply. The pace of a home matters. The words spoken across the dinner table matter. Prayer matters. Repentance matters. Hospitality matters. Presence matters.
So much discipleship happens in the ordinary rhythms we are tempted to overlook.
Children are being formed by what they consistently see and hear.
Marriages are shaped by small daily interactions.
Guests and friends quietly experience the presence — or absence — of peace within our walls.
From Out There to Right Here
Sometimes we imagine mission as something waiting “out there” someday, while overlooking the people directly in front of us today.
But throughout Scripture, God so often begins His work close to home.
The beautiful thing is that Jesus never asked ordinary believers to become impressive. He simply invited them to faithfully walk with Him where they already were.
A few days ago, a group of women in my Bible Study gathered in a friend’s living room for a goodbye brunch before an international move. As people shared stories about the impact she had made on their lives, one woman said something simple but profound:
“She had this way of always gently leading us back to Jesus.”
That was it.
No platform.
No spotlight.
No grand ministry strategy.
Just years of faithfully loving people and gently leading them back to Christ.
That is the kind of mission that quietly changes the world.
And often, it begins at home.
What is one small, intentional way you can gently lead someone in your home back to Jesus this week?
From My Heart and Home to Yours,
Ali
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Homes of Glory provides biblical encouragement & practical tips to help families stay grounded and growing in Jesus Christ.
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