Why make a commitment to share good news?
We make the Commitment when we discover God's love for all peoples The Presbyterian commitment to world evangelization is rooted in the love of God for all people. It is our conviction that the gift of eternal life with God comes only through faith in Jesus Christ.
Therefore, we who know God’s love in Christ have the joyful commission to reach out and extend that love to all the people of the world. It is important to note, however, that most of the world’s 5.9 billion people do not live as isolated individuals. Rather, they identify themselves with a particular tribal or ethnic group. Each of these groups has its own language and customs.
Although these groups may live near one another in the same country, they are often separated by barriers of language or by age-old animosities and prejudice. Therefore, a church planted in one people group will not necessarily be welcomed by or be interested in reaching out to a nearby group. Ghana, for example, is home to more than 70 language/tribal groups. A distinct missionary effort must be undertaken in each of these unreached tribes. This particular mission focus, often called frontier mission, leads the church to address those groups of people among whom the Gospel has had little or no meaningful exposure or reception.
This “people group approach” is at the heart of the Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations.” The literal word for national is ethne, or ethnic people groups. It is estimated that there are nearly 8,000 people groups in which the Gospel has not taken root. These groups live in every country of the world, including the United States! The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is moving forward with zeal to identify some of these people groups and to strategize ways to reach them with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Your church can be part of this movement.