“I will build my church.” — Jesus (Matthew 16:18)

“Go and disciple all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” — Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20)

“Just as the body is a whole and is made up of many members and all the members belong to the body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body.” — Paul, a church planter (1 Corinthians 11:12-13)

Everyone can help in the Great Commission. You can pray, send, mobilize or go. In fact, every beliver is called by God to serve him, by faith, in great, eternal purposes. Everyone is needed.

Different types of mission organizations are also needed. Some specialize in one part of the task, such as providing Bible translation or ministry training. Others specialize in networking and providing resources. Others, like GBIM, exist specifically to empower local churches to reproduce around the world. That task — the expansion of the global church into every nation through the ministry of local churches worldwide — is the heart of the Great Commission.

This is true because local churches are not just organizations. They are living expressions of the body of Christ. The local church is the intimate relationship between Christ and the community of believers, the relationship that exists between the members of that community, and the way that community of believers relates to the world as ambassadors of Christ.

GBIM’s goal is to plant just the New Testament essence of the church, and then to provide resources as God raises up indigenous church planting movements and leaders. Every culture will express this essence in a different way.

In the church, new believers can be discipled and gathered into small groups that can mature and one day provide leadership and a vision for reproducing another church.