A Faith & Witness Reflection
When Jesus gave the Great Commission, He did not say, “Go and plant churches.”
He said, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19)
That single phrase — make disciples of nations — is one of the most misunderstood and neglected commands in the Church today. We have become good at making converts, members, and attenders. But Jesus’ vision was far larger: He was calling His followers to form citizens, not just congregants — to shape societies in the likeness of His Kingdom.
The Gospel was never meant to stay inside church walls. It was meant to transform culture, renew conscience, and influence governance — to bring light where darkness rules and justice where oppression thrives.
🌍 The Great Commission as a National Mandate
To disciple a nation is to bring its culture, systems, and worldview under the Lordship of Christ. It means letting the Gospel inform how we govern, educate, trade, and relate.
Darrow Miller reminds us,
“The most powerful weapon in the world is truth. The most strategic institution is the Church. And the most strategic people are those who believe and live the truth.”
When truth takes root, transformation follows. That is why discipling nations cannot stop at salvation messages; it must penetrate the spheres of education, economy, and governance.
Dr. Charles Habib Malik — the Lebanese diplomat and theologian — warned decades ago that “the university dominates the world more than any other institution.” He asked piercingly,
“If the university today dominates the world, how can we rest without seeking to ascertain where Jesus Christ stands with respect to this power?”
Malik’s question still echoes. If the classroom shapes culture more than the church pew, then the Church must disciple not only the worshipper but the thinker — those who form ideas, policies, and institutions.
🕊️ Faith That Forms Character
Discipleship is not measured by how much we know, but by how we live. The prophet Micah declared:
“What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
Our continent is rich in churches yet poor in justice. We preach salvation but often neglect formation. Our challenge is not the absence of faith — it is the absence of integrity flowing from faith.
Richard Stearns, author of The Hole in Our Gospel, put it bluntly:
“If your gospel isn’t good news for the poor, then it isn’t the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
The Gospel that saves souls must also heal societies. We must teach believers not only how to pray but how to plan, how to govern, how to work ethically, and how to serve with excellence.
⚖️ From Pulpit to Policy
Discipling nations means bridging Sunday faith with Monday responsibility. It means teaching believers to live out the Gospel in offices, classrooms, courts, and marketplaces.
That is the heartbeat of Hesabika — the conviction that faith must inform civic responsibility. Through programs like the Governance Internship Program (GIPro), we have seen young professionals mentored to serve with integrity in government, civil society, and business. It is the same conviction that underlies FOCUS Kenya’s work, especially its Short-Term Experience in Ministry (STEM) programs.
These men and women do not carry placards of religion; they carry principles of righteousness. They show that the Gospel belongs in boardrooms and budget meetings as much as in pulpits and prayer gatherings.
When Daniel served in Babylon, Joseph in Egypt, and Esther in Persia, they did not escape the system — they transformed it from within. They stood as salt and light in the corridors of power.
🌱 Shaping Citizens Who Think and Act Redemptively
To disciple a nation is to teach its people how to think redemptively — to apply the mind of Christ to complex issues. The battle for transformation is first a battle for worldview — for what a society believes about truth, dignity, and destiny.
As Darrow Miller wrote, poverty is not merely economic but moral and spiritual — “a poverty of truth.” Nations rise or fall based on the ideas they live by.
That is why the Church must cultivate citizens who think biblically about everything:
- In governance, truth must triumph over tribe.
- In business, ethics must outlive exploitation.
- In education, wisdom must accompany knowledge.
- In community, compassion must outweigh competition.
We do not need louder religion; we need deeper discipleship — faith that is thinking, working, and redemptive.
💼 Faith in the Marketplace
One of the great lessons emerging from conversations around faith and work is that every believer is a minister and every workplace is a place of ministry.
At the 2020 Faith in the Marketplace Symposium organized by Hesabika, one panelist captured it well: “The Church has discipled congregations for Sunday, but not citizens for Monday.”
The solution is not for pastors to enter politics, but for politicians, teachers, doctors, and entrepreneurs to live as pastors in their professions — shepherding values, serving people, and stewarding influence.
Our Christian witness must be as credible on the shop floor as it is on the sanctuary floor.
🌿 The Church as a Discipling Movement
Discipling nations requires the Church to recover its dual role: as the conscience of the state and the cultivator of society.
That is why Hesabika, FOCUS Kenya, and other IFES movements invest in mentorship — forming leaders whose faith is both private conviction and public competence.
The goal is not just to have more Christians in government, but to have more Christlike leaders wherever they serve.
Imagine if every Sunday’s congregation became Monday’s reformers:
- Teachers shaping integrity in classrooms.
- Lawyers defending justice without compromise.
- Public servants serving citizens with excellence.
- Entrepreneurs creating value without exploitation.
That is what Jesus meant when He said, “You are the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:13–14)
✝️ A Final Word
The call to disciple nations is not an abstract dream — it is a divine directive.
The question is not whether the Church can shape society, but whether we will choose to.
Because the world does not need more religious noise; it needs moral clarity. It does not need louder pulpits; it needs living witnesses.
As Dr. Malik reminded us, the greatest arena of influence is the mind. As Miller insists, truth must be lived publicly. And as Stearns calls us to remember, the Gospel is only whole when it reaches both soul and society.
Let us therefore make disciples who live redemptively — citizens whose faith transforms culture, not escapes it.
Onwards we go.
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