The Missing Ingredient in the Mission of the Local Church

I don’t cook. I don’t bake. But I do have daughters who do. They prepare delicious food, except when they leave important ingredients out. Baking soda is not the same thing as baking power. It does matter whether the white granular substance is sugar or salt. When something it missing, the result is usually not good.

Something is missing in our churches today as we seek to fulfill the Great Commission. A key ingredient is often absent from our ministry philosophies and missions strategies. And we are reaping the consequences both at home and abroad.

So what is missing from our Great Commission strategies?

Is Evangelism the Missing Ingredient?

No, we have not forgotten that we must “preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). I continue to hear amazing stories of God using his people to lead others to Him. Both in the US and around the world, believers are spreading the gospel.

Could we do better? Of course. Too often, sharing about Christ is an afterthought. We talk about being a witness, but we find ourselves not actively seeking opportunities to share. If every believer seized the open doors to speak of Christ that God gives them, the church could not help but grow more than it is now. But evangelism is still on our radar, so evangelism is not the missing ingredient.

Is Discipleship the Missing Ingredient?

No, we know we must “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Many have rightly pointed out that the Great Commission is not about making converts who pray a prayer, but it is about making disciples who, from the heart, believe on Jesus alone for salvation and grow to be more like Him. We have discipleship as a core value in our churches and devote programs to it. Many churches have one-on-one discipleship and discipleship groups. We disciple new believers. Yes, our discipleship could improve (and should include more than just new believers), but it is not the missing ingredient.

Is Church Planting the Missing Ingredient?

Wait. Is church planting a part of the Great Commission? In Acts, the apostles and the first century believers intentionally obeyed the Great Commission, and when they did, they inevitably evangelized, discipled, and planted churches. Church planting is the natural result of evangelism and discipleship. As people get saved, they need to be gathered into churches.

Often, church planting is not on the church’s radar. Sometimes, new churches form by accident as churches split. Few churches prioritize planting another church in their long-term goals. So, is church planting the missing ingredient? Some would argue that it is, but an even greater omission has made planting another church seem like an unrealistic goal for most churches today.

Is Leadership Training the Missing Ingredient?

The Great Commission work of the first century included one more element that is rarely a top priority for churches today–leadership training. Future leaders filled out the apostle Paul’s missionary teams. He led people to Christ and discipled them, but He did not limit his discipleship to new believers. He sought leaders for the future whom he could mentor. Whole books of the Bible–the epistles to Timothy and Titus–give instruction to these young leaders. Paul specifically directed leaders to appoint other church leaders in every city (Titus 1:5). Leadership training is a key element in Great Commission work. And it is often missing in twenty-first century churches and missionary work.

The results of this omission are only just beginning to be seen. An alarming number of churches in the U.S. have no pastor. Vacancies remain open for years. Few young men consider entering the ministry, and since the pandemic, many veteran pastors have left the pulpit. According to some studies, the median age of pastors has risen from the 40s in the 1990s to nearly 60 today. In addition, the American contribution to worldwide missions is also waning as retirees vastly outnumber new recruits venturing overseas with the gospel.

Some ask, “Why are the Bible colleges and seminaries failing to produce leaders?” But the source of the problem is closer to home. Training institutions assist churches by theologically training men for ministry. Churches, not seminaries, produce leaders. If leadership training is not a priority for pastors and churches at the local level, you would expect to see fewer men enrolling in seminaries. Seminaries would then begin to close due to lack of enrollment and finances. And this is exactly what we are seeing today. Leadership training is the missing ingredient in modern Great Commission work.

Conclusion: Two Examples of Leadership Training Today

I have rarely witnessed churches where leadership training is an obvious priority. I’ve seen few churches who have dedicated significant resources to grow, train, and deploy new leaders.¹ But here are two shining examples of what it can look like today.²

Example #1

In the 1990s and 2000s, a pastor in New Jersey had a vision for training young men. He spoke of it often. He raised them up from his own congregation, and he recruited others who graduated from likeminded seminaries. Then, he offered these men a pathway to ministry that began with theological study, continued with a two-year paid pastoral internship at his church, and culminated in sending them out to either plant a new church or revitalize a struggling church. The men he trained are now scattered over the region. For this church, leadership training was not an afterthought or an accident–it was part of the DNA of what they did in fulfilling the Great Commission.

Example #2

More recently, I have observed a church in Maryland with a similar burden for raising up leaders. This pastor has regularly hired assistant pastors as they get started in ministry. Some grew up through the church. Others came out of sister churches in other areas of the country. They have served faithfully alongside this pastor before heading out as pastors and missionaries. Even now, this church is working to send out one of these men to go and plant a daughter church in a nearby town. Key families from the mother church are leaving to join the new work. Now this is taking leadership training seriously!

What if more pastors and church leaders caught this burden for training leaders? Fulfilling the Great Commission requires not only evangelism and discipleship but also leadership training of future pastors and missionaries. The church gathers believers, not to keep them, but to send them out. If training and sending is not a priority, is a church truly fulfilling the Great Commission?

Is your church missing this important ingredient? How are new leaders being grown, trained, and deployed at your church?

Follow-up post: 5 Reasons Why Churches Are No Longer Training Leaders

1. Pastors, churches, and missionaries of the past have prioritized leadership training. In my new missions devotional, Daring Decision: A 31-Day Journey with those who Followed God’s Leading, I highlight Charles Simeon, Robert Murray M’Cheyne, and Luke Bickel who discipled and mentored leaders who served across the world. This book will be available starting in Fall 2025. Find out more at www.mrconrad.net. ↩︎
2. Another example overseas would be the work of National Theological College and Graduate School who partners with national churches in the Middle East and East Africa to train national leaders for the church. Find out more at http://www.ntcgs.org. ↩︎

Photo Credit: Fredrico Rodriguez on unsplash.