May is Kingdom Advancement Month – Empowered to Go: Fulfilling the Mission of Jesus Locally and Globally

The Kingdom of God is at Hand

By Dr. Wes Griffin

Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the Gospel.” Jesus then calls His first disciples, drives out an unclean spirit, and heals many people of various diseases. Today, we are called to join Christ in the work of advancing the Kingdom of God around the world.

 

The GMC’s Commission on Kingdom Advancement

At the General Conference in Costa Rica, the Global Methodist Church formalized a Commission to focus on evangelism, church multiplication, mission mobilization, unreached people groups, and disaster response. Today, this commission is known as the Commission on Kingdom Advancement, whose purpose is to mobilize the Global Methodist Church to advance the Kingdom of God as we “make disciples of Jesus Christ and spread scriptural holiness around the globe.”

 

May is Kingdom Advancement Month

May is designated as Kingdom Advancement month, and for the next four weeks, we will celebrate the incredible achievements of the Global Methodist Church, and we will also share the excellent resources that are available to you as part of our global movement. The Global Methodist Church is to be a missional movement of people who are multiplying disciples of Jesus Christ throughout the earth who flourish in scriptural holiness as we worship passionately, love extravagantly and witness boldly. 

 

The Whole Counsel of God for All the Peoples of the World

The Global Methodist Church mobilizes the gifts and contributions of each part of the church, working as partners in the Gospel with equal voice and leadership. We are committed to spreading the Gospel where the Gospel is needed the most. One focus is the unreached people groups of the world where over 3 billion people live in more than 7000 people groups. We are committed to reaching the whole world for Christ.

 

Five Priorities

Five priorities define our unique witness to the world:

• Baptisms: Baptisms as a result of effectively reaching people with the Gospel

• New Churches: New churches planted as a result of church multiplication

• Missions Mobilization: Acts 1.8 congregations as a result of mission mobilization

• Unreached People Groups: Apostolic engagement as a result of outreach to Unreached People Groups

• Disaster Response: Vulnerable people served as a result of compassionate disaster response

 

Bishop Mark Webb explains, “The GMC was birthed through a unified, global commitment to spread the Gospel. Local churches and annual conferences are at the center of our world-wide ministry, and the Kingdom Advancement Commission exists to serve the denomination to help us discover, develop and deploy the gifts of all our members around the world so the Great Commission will be achieved.”

 

The Global Methodist Church officially began operations on May 1, 2022. Today, we are a growing global movement with almost 5000 congregations in 24 Nations organized through almost 40 annual conferences with more annual conferences being developed. 

 

The words of Jesus are just as relevant today as when He spoke them, “The Kingdom of God is at hand!”  

 

As Global Methodists, will you commit to do your part to advance the Kingdom of God?

Dr. Wes Griffin is the Chair of the Kingdom Advancement Commission. He leads a global, world-class team of leaders who are focused on mobilizing the Global Methodist Church for missional excellence. Formerly, Wes led an organization for 25 years that equipped over 400,000 leaders in more than 150 nations. He was also the founding dean of the Baltic Methodist Theological Seminary after the collapse of the Soviet Union.