Discovering Global Missions

A recent Barna study found that 51% of churchgoers in the United States do not know what the Great Commission is, and though 25% retain some familiarity with the passage, they cannot recall its exact wording. That leaves just 17% of attendees who can articulate the essence of Jesus’ ultimate command.

As director of Encompass World Partners, Dave Guiles meets with scores of pastors and church missions team leaders each year. Though he recognizes that Charis Fellowship churches are more connected to the Great Commission than most, he was startled to identify a correlation between the Barna numbers and his onsite observations, even within the movement. Dave’s passion for championing the Great Commission blossomed from personal experience. With his wife, Sue, he worked in Argentina for 12 years to implement strategies for evangelism, discipleship, and church planting, and he also served as Coordinator for Encompass ministries throughout Latin America. From there, he would return to the states to serve as Executive Director of Encompass, where he still serves today. Dave believes every church is compelled by the Great Commission to promote the gospel among the least-reached people in the world. With this mandate in mind, he penned an essential primer to connect people to this paramount calling. His book, Discovering Global Missions, provides readers with a foundational understanding of the Great Commission and an exploration of every Christian’s mandate to move the gospel forward. “I wrote the book because of the growing conviction that the Great Commission is being redefined as anything I think God might want me to do to bless others,” Dave laments. “While I will always applaud efforts to ‘do good’ in the name of Jesus, my sincere passion is to ensure Jesus’ command to make disciples of all nations remains the very foundation of our mission.” Discovering Global Missions is a practical book full of solid advice, actionable resources, and most importantly, the why behind cross-cultural missions. Dave states, “God desires that every man, woman, and child come to know him, and the work of missions is to cross ethnic barriers to help the gospel and the church take root in the diverse cultural soils of our world.” God has a role for you to play in his mission to bring gospel hope to all nations, and he wants to help you find it. This is not just a book for those who are considering overseas missions work; it’s written for every follower of Jesus, that they may understand God’s specific calling on their lives to pray for the least-reached, support international mission work with their resources, and perhaps even bring the love of Jesus to the nations. Discovering Global Missions will connect everyday Christians to the true meaning of the Great Commission and take concrete steps toward becoming an active participant in it. To learn more, and to download your FREE digital copy of Discovering Global Missions, please visit PathSeries.com.