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How do believers respond to the Great Commission? Found in Matthew 28:19, the Great Commission says: “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.”

Those words were originally spoken by the resurrected Jesus to His eleven disciples. Who is responsible for following the Lord’s command? Must everyone go?

Some believers, compelled to respond literally to the Great Commission, place themselves in foreign lands. They actively work as missionaries, relying on sending organizations, such as Pioneers, for commission and partnership. Pioneers has existed for about 45 years to bring the Gospel to the world’s most unreached people groups.

Others understand the call of Matthew 28 as an instruction to support the work of missionaries, traditionally through prayer and financial benevolence. William Carey, a noted English missionary in India, interpreted both responses as valid when he famously told his associate, Andrew Fuller, "I will go down if you will hold the rope."

Carey was willing to do the missionary work, with the expectation of Fuller’s committed assistance. Carey’s words ultimately inspired those on both ends of the rope — missionaries and their supporters.

Pioneers Supports the Growth of Missions

“I’m consistently amazed by the diversity of the backgrounds and gifts of our missionaries and the creative ways they are using to share the gospel and make disciples,” Matt Green, vice president of marketing for Pioneers, wrote in an email interview.

Green has short-term experience in overseas missions and has visited field teams in many parts of the world with Pioneers, he wrote.

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“With more than 3,000 workers in over 80 countries, Pioneers labor on every continent, except Antarctica, serving among 500 unique people groups," Green wrote.

“We provide short-term (summer and internship opportunities), mid-term (a year or less) and long-term opportunities,” Green wrote. “Pioneers are passionate about the unreached, creative in our approach to reaching them, grace-filled in our relationships with one another and with those we serve.”

Pioneers empowers Gospel-driven Christians to go to the ends of the earth together in relentless pursuit of the unreached, according to their website. That relentless pursuit leads members to “serve in places where traditional missionaries are not welcome but expatriates with skills or education beneficial to the country are allowed to live.”

“They serve in education, health care, agriculture, business or some other field of work in their host country,” Green wrote. “In meeting these needs, they are able to learn culture and language, build relationships and make disciples in places where there are no existing church communities.”

Pioneers taps into the passions of willing servants desiring to help plant churches, via surfing, tourism, healthcare, business, skateboarding, artistic endeavors and many other avenues that might not seem to fit church planting, according to their website. Their goal is Gospel-oriented conversations that raise up new believers who can be formed into fellowships.

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“Hold the Rope” to Expand the Growth of Missions

When asking a missionary how to support them or “hold their rope,” “please pray for us” is a likely response.

“Nothing happens, unless we, as the body, pray for the moving of the Holy Spirit amongst the unreached,” Ingrid Orr, a Pioneers missionary serving with her husband, Greg Orr, in Berlin, wrote in an email interview. “I do believe prayer is an underutilized tool we have as Christians.”

The Orrs are “second career” missionaries, who found Pioneers to be welcoming despite their age.

“We were also drawn to the fact that teams on the field drive what their ministry looks like,” Ingrid Orr wrote. “It is not dictated from the head office. It is field-based leadership. Innovation is encouraged. Basically the missionaries on the ground are trusted to make the best decisions on how to reach the unreached in the area of the world they are based.”

Greg Orr, sets up a book table in different locations several times a week, Ingrid Orr wrote. He offers Bibles and the Gospels of John and Luke in more than 30 different languages. Recently, he has had three native German speakers join him, Ingrid Orr said.

“Almost every time he goes out with his book table, he comes back with stories of people stopping and asking about what he is doing,” said Ingrid Orr. “He and the other men have had great Gospel conversations.”

Christians can make specific prayers as they support missionaries through prayer. Making time with God and taking care of oneself spiritually is vital, Ingrid Orr wrote.

“The spiritual warfare is intense and can overwhelm you, if you do not maintain daily time with God, listening, praying and reading the Word,” she wrote.

There is no typical day for a Pioneers missionary, she added.

“You are rather like an entrepreneur,” Ingrid Orr wrote. “You need self discipline, an ability to pick yourself up when ideas fall flat, imagination, the willingness to take risks, a love for new cultures, a realization that really deep down people are very similar regardless of where they are from. You need a great amount of flexibility, and most of all, you need the faith to know God is in charge — that His plans are not ours.”

Missionaries encounter hardship, disappointment and rejection when stepping onto the mission field full time, she added.

“However, you also realize that it is through these experiences you see the hand of God working,” Ingrid Orr wrote.” Our motto is, ‘We do what God has put before us.’ He has led us to ministry opportunities that we engage in weekly, and He continues to open unexpected doors.”

Ingrid Orr wrote she is especially encouraged by an unexpected text or email from a church member who shows an interest in what is happening in Berlin. She also appreciates knowing that her sending church prays and that her church’s missions committee believes in what they are trying to do.

“Write snail mail to your missionaries,” Ingrid Orr wrote. “It means a lot when you are far from home to receive an unexpected card and realize someone thought of you and took the time to write.”

Other Organizations

Christians looking for unique and tangible opportunities to support the growth of missions without relocating can connect with new and existing organizations, Green wrote. He shared contacts for the following groups, which are finding creative ways for the body of Christ to get involved in fulfilling the Great Commission — beyond praying, giving and going long-term.

• Encountering Muslims is a ministry of Pioneers that offers a course for people who want to grow in their understanding of Islam and how to befriend and share the gospel with Muslims living in their communities.
• Ministries like World Relief offer opportunities for Christians in the US to volunteer in refugee resettlement — many of whom are coming from countries where there is little to no gospel witness.
• Global Switchboard connects Christians with technical skills with missionaries around the world who can benefit from them.

“We want people to see that God is on the move, that there are countless ways for followers of Jesus to join Him in gathering people from every nation on earth into His family,” Green wrote.

Potential Pioneers can begin with the Start form.

The Rest of the Great Commission

Jesus directs the disciples into His everlasting care with the rest of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:20: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus Himself is holding the rope — both for those laboring with grit on the mission field and for those tenaciously supporting the growth of missions.

Heidi Mosher finds joy and rest knowing that every single day is a day that the Lord has made. She strives to point readers to the delights of beauty and mercy. Heidi writes from Michigan with eyes on the promise of a heavenly home.