Preach As You Go

“And preach as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of Heaven is at hand’” (Matthew 10:7).

At least in recent Christian history, preaching is something that takes place at a certain place, at a certain hour, not too often, and not too long. It also requires much preparation by the preacher.

This, however, does not seem to be what Jesus meant when He spoke of preaching. He said it again in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19: “As you go, make disciples of all nations.” Preaching and making disciples should be a normal part of our daily life, not a special part. Nor should it be a normal part for special people. Here is a biblical example:

“And on that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria except the Apostles… Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:1, 4).

Everyone except the apostles was preaching as they went. If “all” means “all,” this meant thousands of people, and perhaps tens of thousands. Let us encourage one another to preach as we go.

Written in 1978.