Together in Mission: Answering the Call

The mission of the Southwestern Union has never been more urgent, as the world needs our message of hope. This is the hour to unite and to boldly declare that Jesus is coming soon.

We can find inspiration for our mission in the book of Acts, which records the most explosive mission movement in history. This mission began when 120 ordinary believers gathered in an upper room and waited on God together. Scan Acts, chapters 2–5, and the word "together" leaps off the page. They were together in one place. They believed together. They raised their voices together in prayer. They met together. Unity was not incidental to their mission—it was their mission. And from that togetherness, the Gospel crossed every boundary on earth and reached people who had never heard the name of Jesus.

That same principle is the foundation for our work in the Southwestern Union. "Together in Mission" is more than a theme for the coming quinquennium—it’s a truth we must live. Evangelism grows when our churches evangelize as one body. Education transforms when our schools and congregations work in partnership. Communication amplifies when every voice is pulling in the same direction. Leadership multiplies when we prepare the next generation. Discipleship deepens when no one in our churches is walking alone. We either rise together, or we stall in isolation. 

The work ahead of us is far too great for human effort alone. The territory we cover, the diversity of our congregations, the spiritual battle raging in our communities—these demand more than any leader, any budget or any strategy can provide. But when the Holy Spirit comes upon a surrendered, unified people, they receive power—the supernatural capacity to do what is impossible in their own strength. The disciples who turned the world upside down were not impressive by any human measure. They were ordinary people made extraordinary by the Spirit of the living God. So are we.

But that power flows through unity. Before Pentecost came, those 120 believers became as one—praying through differences, healing relational wounds, surrendering personal agendas. They were bound together by a shared devotion to Christ and urgency about His mission. That same devotion is what will propel us forward. When the people of God are knit together by prayer and anchored in His Word, there is nothing the Holy Spirit cannot accomplish through them.

So here is my challenge to you: Stop waiting for the right moment. This is the moment. Plant the church that has been in your heart. Make the evangelistic call you have been putting off. Invest in the young person sitting in your pew. Heal the relationship that has been broken. Open your mouth and declare, without apology, that Jesus is coming soon—because He is.

The Southwestern Union is alive with possibility. The promise of Acts 1:8 belongs to us as surely as it belonged to those first disciples. Let us receive it, walk in it, and together—boldly, faithfully, urgently—proclaim that the King is coming.a

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By Elton DeMoraes, D.Min.

Southwestern Union President

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