Extend
Extend by being involved in service
As Jesus finished talking to the disciples he encouraged and emboldened them by saying, “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b). It was time to leave the mountain and extend the kingdom of God while at the same time they themselves were about to be extended.
This is the one mission description that has a dual meaning.
We, as a corporate body of believers, are extending beyond the walls of the church and the edges of our property. Our primary strategy for meeting this task is getting involved in community events, charities, and local schools. While we have some limits to our capabilities, the opportunities to serve continue to grow each day.
Extension has as much to do with individuals as it does with the body. The first disciples were not church planters, theologians, debaters, or world travelers. But that would change. Their abilities were about to be extended. As a person serves in the church and ministers outside of the church they are extended, or stretched, beyond what they thought possible. God has a way of doing that as He molds us into the church and people He desires us to be.