19 Bible Verses About Missionary Work

Matthew 28:19-20

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Reflection: Jesus gives these words to the eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee, and the verse before supplies the ground for them: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” The task has three parts in the text: making disciples of all nations, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey what Jesus commanded. Matthew notes that when the eleven saw him they worshiped him, “but some doubted” (28:17), and the commission and the promise of his presence “to the very end of the age” are given to that group.

Mark 16:15

“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’”

Reflection: The risen Jesus speaks to the Eleven while they are eating, just after rebuking them for not believing those who had seen him alive (16:14). The NIV prints a note before verse 9: “The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9–20.” The command itself reaches as far as the one in Matthew: the gospel is for “all creation.”

Luke 24:46-47

“He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.’”

Reflection: Jesus has just opened the disciples’ minds “so they could understand the Scriptures” (24:45), and he sums up what those Scriptures say: the Messiah suffers, rises on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins is preached in his name to all nations. The next verse names who will carry the message: “You are witnesses of these things.” They are to stay in the city until they are “clothed with power from on high” (24:49).

John 20:21

“Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’”

Reflection: On the evening of the first day of the week the disciples are behind locked doors “for fear of the Jewish leaders” when Jesus stands among them. He ties their sending to his own: the Father sent him, and he now sends them. The next verse equips them for it: “he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”

Acts 1:8

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Reflection: The disciples had asked whether Jesus was about to restore the kingdom to Israel (1:6). He tells them the times and dates are not theirs to know and gives them a sequence of places instead: Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Acts 8 records the second stage, when a persecution scatters the believers “throughout Judea and Samaria” and “those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (8:1, 8:4).

Psalm 96:3

“Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.”

Reflection: The psalm opens by calling “all the earth” to sing to the Lord, and this verse turns the song outward: his glory and his deeds are to be declared among the nations and all peoples. The same lines appear in 1 Chronicles 16:24, in the song of praise sung after the ark of God was brought into the tent David had pitched for it (16:1).

Isaiah 49:6

“He says: ‘It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’”

Reflection: The servant who speaks in Isaiah 49 was formed in the womb “to bring Jacob back to him” (49:5), and here the Lord calls that task “too small a thing.” The servant is also to be a light for the Gentiles, so that salvation reaches the ends of the earth. At Pisidian Antioch, Paul and Barnabas quote this verse as “what the Lord has commanded us” when they turn to preach to the Gentiles (Acts 13:47).

Revelation 7:9

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”

Reflection: John has just heard the number of those sealed from the tribes of Israel, 144,000 (7:4). He then looks and sees a crowd no one could count, drawn from every nation, tribe, people and language, in white robes and holding palm branches. Their cry in the next verse is “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

Matthew 9:36-38

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’”

Reflection: Jesus has been going through the towns and villages teaching, proclaiming the good news and healing (9:35) when he sees the crowds as sheep without a shepherd. What he tells his disciples to do about the shortage of workers is to pray to the Lord of the harvest. In the next chapter he sends out the twelve himself, at that stage only to “the lost sheep of Israel” (10:5-6).

Acts 13:2-3

“While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”

Reflection: The church at Antioch had several prophets and teachers, Barnabas and Saul among them (13:1). The Spirit’s instruction comes while those prophets and teachers are worshiping and fasting, and they fast and pray again before laying hands on the two men. Verse 4 says the two were “sent on their way by the Holy Spirit,” so the text credits the sending both to the men who laid hands on them and to the Spirit, and their route begins with Cyprus.

Romans 10:14-15

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”

Reflection: Paul has just quoted the promise “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (10:13), and here he traces it backward: calling depends on believing, believing on hearing, hearing on someone preaching, and preaching on someone being sent. The line about beautiful feet comes from Isaiah 52:7, where messengers bring good news to Zion. Verse 17 draws the conclusion: “faith comes from hearing the message.”

3 John 1:7-8

“It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.”

Reflection: The elder is writing to Gaius, who has been caring for travelling believers “even though they are strangers to you” (1:5), and he asks Gaius to send them on their way “in a manner that honors God.” They went out for the sake of the Name and accepted nothing from the pagans. The elder draws his conclusion with “therefore”: believers should show such people hospitality and so work with them for the truth.

Romans 1:16

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”

Reflection: Paul is writing to believers in Rome whom he had planned many times to visit but had been prevented (1:13). He calls himself “obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks” (1:14), which is why he is eager to preach in Rome, and this verse gives the reason he is not ashamed: the gospel is God’s power for the salvation of everyone who believes. The order “first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” matches Acts 13:46, where Paul and Barnabas tell the Jews of Pisidian Antioch, “We had to speak the word of God to you first.”

Romans 15:20

“It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.”

Reflection: Near the end of the letter Paul says he has “fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ” from Jerusalem around to Illyricum (15:19). His aim was to preach where Christ was not known, and he backs it with Isaiah 52:15: “Those who were not told about him will see.” A few verses later he plans to pass through Rome on the way to Spain and asks the church there to help him on the journey (15:24).

1 Corinthians 9:19-22

“Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.”

Reflection: Earlier in the chapter Paul explains that he has not used his right to be supported by the Corinthians (9:15). Here he lists the groups he adapted to for the sake of winning them: Jews, those under the law, those without the law, and the weak. The second parenthesis marks the limit of that freedom: Paul is not “free from God’s law” but “under Christ’s law.” Verse 23 gives the reason for all of it: “I do all this for the sake of the gospel.”

1 Thessalonians 2:8

“So we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”

Reflection: Paul, Silas and Timothy write to the church of the Thessalonians and recall how they behaved while they were with them. The verse completes a comparison begun in 2:7: “Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you.” The verse after shows what sharing their lives involved: “we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.”

2 Corinthians 5:14-15

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

Reflection: Paul is explaining to the Corinthians what drives his ministry, and he names two things: Christ’s love, and the conviction that one died for all so that the living would live for him. A few verses later he describes the work that follows from it. God “has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us” (5:19-20).

Colossians 4:5-6

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Reflection: Paul writes these lines in chains, and just before them he asks the Colossians to pray “that God may open a door for our message” (4:3). He then turns to the Colossians themselves and how they treat outsiders: acting wisely, making the most of every opportunity, and speaking with grace “seasoned with salt,” so that they can answer everyone.

1 Peter 3:15

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

Reflection: Peter writes to “exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia” (1:1), believers who may “suffer for what is right” (3:14). He has just told them, “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened,” and in place of fear they are to revere Christ as Lord and be ready to explain their hope to anyone who asks. The manner is part of the instruction: gentleness, respect and a clear conscience, so that those who slander their good behavior “may be ashamed of their slander” (3:16).