Our Unchanging Mission

Unchanging mission has defined the Pentecostal Church of God from our inception. Preaching, making disciples, and impacting eternity by the power of the Holy Spirit have been, are, and will always be distinctives that mark our Movement. Our mission—“One Mission”—continues from every local community across the United States to every mega city, metropolitan city, town, village, and hamlet throughout the world. We are a global church with a global mission. Where does it all begin?

THE HEART OF GOD

To know what our mission is, we must first know the heart of God. God’s heart reflects His character, His intentions, and His desires for mankind.

I Timothy 2:4 (ESV) says, “Who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” God’s heart is that all people be saved. The Greek word sozo means “to save, heal, preserve, be whole, or to be made whole.” It is used principally of God rescuing individuals from the penalty and power of sin and bringing them into His provisions.

In Ezekiel 18:23 (NLT), God says, “Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? Says the Sovereign Lord. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live.”

Mark records in chapter 16:16 (ESV), “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

Peter confirms the heart of God in 2 Peter 3:9 (NLT), “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed but wants everyone to repent.” John punctuates this in John 3:17 (ESV), “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

Mockers at the cross declared, “He saved others; he cannot save himself” (Mt. 27:42, ESV). Unknowingly they proclaimed the truth of the Gospel, “He died that the world might be saved through him.” God’s mission is tied to His heart, and our mission should be tied to God’s heart.

GOD INVITES US TO PARTICIPATE

God invites us to participate in His redemptive work, empowering us by His Spirit to live out our calling in service and witness to the world.

Some years ago, Sarah Bryant, Janie and myself, and our interpreter Rinat Saadetdinov were traveling by train from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Ivanovo, Russia. It was a sixteen-hour journey undertaken overnight. A few hours into the trip, Rinat wanted to go to the dining car, so Janie and I went with him. When we arrived at the dining car, every seat was full except for one booth already occupied by a single lady.

We started to retreat to the sleeping car when the woman almost apologetically looked up and invited us to sit with her. We sat down and instantly sensed she was in distress. We exchanged pleasantries and then she simply began her story. She was a doctor, but her life was not headed in a good direction. She was visibly despondent and shared she had no hope. Janie began to share her own testimony of a life outside of God’s love and how in her most desperate moments Jesus came into her life, forgave her of her sins, washed her clean, and brought hope that she had never known. When Janie asked her if she would like to give her life to Jesus, the lady reached across the table, took Janie by the hands, and with tears streaming down her face, said, “Yes, I want to know Jesus.”

JESUS WAS SENT, AND NOW HE IS SENDING US

Jesus said to the disciples in Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV), “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. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Before His ascension, Jesus left the disciples with these words, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8, ESV).

For the last 107 years, the Pentecostal Church of God has been going and sending, sending and going. We are committed to His mission because it is His heart. We are in the middle of this DECADE OF HARVEST, and its goals are not just numbers. The goals are souls. They are next door, down the street, across town, and around the world. God is sending us. Will you go?

ONE MISSION—ONE MOVEMENT: GOALS FOR A DECADE OF HARVEST

1. 100 nations with PCG presence
2. 1,000 Next-Gen leaders (10,000 globally)
3. 10,000 ministers and churches (globally)
4. 1,000,000 Christ followers (globally)