By Joel Comiskey, God’s Missionary Purpose (new 2026 book)
Mission isn’t a program the church runs. It’s a reflection of who God is.
The more I study Scripture — and the more I write my new book about missions — the clearer it becomes: mission didn’t begin with us. It didn’t begin with a committee, a strategy, or even the Great Commission. Mission begins with God.
From the opening pages of Scripture, we see a God who moves toward people. After the Fall, He seeks Adam and Eve. After the flood, He preserves a remnant. And in Genesis 12, He calls Abraham — not as an end in himself, but as a means to reach the nations: “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
God’s plan was always global. His heart has always been for all peoples.
This is where we must start. Because if we don’t get this right, everything else becomes activity without an anchor.
Mission is not primarily about what we do. It’s about who God is. God is a sending God.
- He sends Abraham.
- He sends Moses.
- He sends the prophets.
- And ultimately, He sends His Son.
“As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21, NIV). The church exists because God sends. And we are called to join Him.
The Missionary Thread of Scripture
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is a missionary story. The Psalms call us to “declare His glory among the nations” (Psalm 96:3).
The prophets envision a day when people from every nation stream to the mountain of the Lord. Revelation ends with a great multitude from every tribe, tongue, and people worshiping before the throne. God has been working toward that scene the whole time.
Mission is not an occasional emphasis. It is the outflow of God’s glory. As John Piper famously said, “Missions exist because worship doesn’t” (John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad!). One day, missions will end. Worship will not.
Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria — and the World
When Jesus gives His final instructions in Acts 1:8, He doesn’t simply say “go everywhere.” He maps out the world in layers — each one representing increasing cultural distance.
Jerusalem — home turf.
Judea — familiar, but further.
Samaria — culturally tense, historically hostile.
The ends of the earth — completely different languages, customs, and worldviews.
Jesus doesn’t let His disciples off the hook at any level. Near and far. Familiar and foreign. All of it.
To help us think clearly about those layers, missiologist Ralph Winter developed the E‑Scale — a simple way to understand the cultural distance we cross when sharing the gospel.
The E‑Scale at a Glance
- E‑0 — Renewal of nominal or inactive believers
- E‑1 — Reaching people in your own culture and language
- E‑2 — Crossing moderate cultural barriers
- E‑3 — Frontier missions among unreached peoples
Over the coming weeks, we’ll walk through this scale together. We’ll talk about local mission in your own Jerusalem and Judea, about crossing cultural lines with humility, and about the roughly 40% of the world that still has little to no access to the gospel.
But none of it makes sense apart from this: God is already at work. And we are joining Him. Let’s pray this prayer: “Lord, help me see where You are at work — and give me the courage to join You.”
Click here if you’d like to receive each blog in your email inbox. For April, we’ll cover:
Week 1 (April 5–11) God’s Missionary Purpose
We’ll open the month by grounding everything in the character of God. Mission isn’t a program the church runs — it’s a reflection of who God is. From Genesis to Revelation, He is a God who reaches toward people, who pursues the lost, and who sends. Our churches don’t do missions because it’s a good idea; we do it because we’re joining something God has been doing from the beginning.
Week 2 (April 12–18) Every Person Mobilized
This post is about ownership. Too often, missions feels like something a small committee handles while the rest of the church watches. But Scripture calls every believer into this story. I also want this post to take spiritual warfare seriously — Satan actively works to deceive and destroy, and the mission advances through prayer.
Week 3 (April 19–25) Local Missions — Jerusalem and Judea
Here we get practical and close to home. Drawing on the E-1 and E-2 categories from the excerpt, let’s challenge our readers to look at the people already around them — neighbors, coworkers, the communities just beyond our church walls. Local mission isn’t a consolation prize for people who can’t go overseas. It’s where most of us are called to start, and for many, it’s where we’re called to stay.
Week 4 (April 26–May 2 ) Regions Beyond — The Unreached
We’ll close the month by lifting readers’ eyes to the horizon. Roughly 40% of the world’s population has little to no access to the gospel — no church in their community, no Bible in their language, no one in their network who follows Jesus. That’s not a statistic to gloss over. You can be part of reaching the unreached through prayer, through giving, and by supporting those who go.