Jesus had a mission; we have a mission.  Our mission in the world is inseparably tied to His mission of advancing His kingdom.  Jesus spent three and one half years preparing His disciples for ministry.  There were “trial runs” in the sending out of the 12 and the 70; this was to help prepare them for a lifetime of mission.  He gave them, and us, the Great Commission to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20).  “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21).

“Jesus replied, ‘Let us go somewhere else–to the nearby villages–so I can preach there also. That is why I have come’” (Mark 1:38-39 NIV).