“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”
— Jesus, Matthew 28:19
There’s a tension every pastor, planter, and leader feels: Are we merely filling seats—or are we fulfilling the Great Commission?
In a culture obsessed with attendance, aesthetics, and algorithms, the Church must remember that our mission hasn’t changed. Jesus didn’t call us to create spiritual consumers. He commissioned us to make disciples. We’ve all heard it said: the health of a church isn’t just found in its seating capacity but in its sending capacity. If we want to see gospel transformation in our neighborhoods, cities, and nations, we must instill a missional DNA into the very fabric of our churches—and raise up leaders to carry that mission forward in every context.
What Is Missional DNA?
Missional DNA is not a ministry department or seasonal emphasis. It’s not just outreach, evangelism, or even church planting. It’s a way of life. It’s the understanding that every believer is sent. Every street is sacred. Every follower of Jesus is a missionary in their own backyard.
When missional DNA runs deep, it doesn’t just shape what a church does—it shapes who the church is. Sunday is no longer the destination; it becomes the rally point. The real action happens Monday through Saturday in homes, offices, schools, neighborhoods, and cafes. The church gathers to be fueled and formed—but it scatters to live sent.
The Problem: Cruise Ship Christianity
Too often, churches operate like cruise ships—offering programs tailored to personal preferences, with staff existing to serve the passengers. But the Church was never meant to entertain consumers; it was designed to equip missionaries.
We don’t need more passive attenders—we need active disciple-makers.
So how do we, as leaders and pastors, get our churches there? That shift starts with vision, culture, and leadership.
Cast the Vision Relentlessly
Vision leaks. If you want to instill a missional culture, you can’t just announce it once and move on. You have to bleed it. Celebrate it. Preach it. Storyboard it. Model it. Your people will not run with a vision they cannot see or feel.
Here’s what I’ve learned: people don’t just follow ideas; they follow stories. So tell the stories of ordinary people living on mission. Highlight the couple mentoring their neighbors, the college student sharing Jesus on campus, the mom creating community on the playground. When you celebrate missional living in public, it becomes desirable in private.
Every sermon, story, staff meeting, and strategy should drip with a sense of mission. If we want to raise up missionaries, we must talk less about what the church offers and more about who the church equips.
Shift from Programmatic to Personal
A missional church doesn’t simply host more events—it unleashes more people.
That means transitioning from programs to people development. It means we stop asking, “How do we get more people to sign up?” and start asking, “How do we raise people to be sent out?”
This doesn’t mean eliminating structure—it means aligning every structure to the mission. Small groups become micro-missional outposts. Teams become leadership pipelines. Discipleship becomes the pathway, not the destination.
One of the most effective ways we’ve seen this happen is through simple, reproducible rhythms like B.L.E.S.S.—Begin with prayer, Listen well, Eat together, Serve practically, and Share your story. These aren’t church programs—they’re everyday patterns of hospitality and mission. We also encourage our people to consistently show up in third spaces—gyms, cafes, playgrounds, parks—anywhere life naturally happens outside the walls of the church. Because mission doesn’t start on a stage; it starts with presence. In proximity. Over time.
Build a Reproducible Leadership Culture
You can’t fulfill the Great Commission without multiplying leaders. But you also don’t need a million-dollar budget or a 3-year residency to get started. Leadership development begins with intentional relationships.
At Riverside, we’ve learned to identify potential by looking for three traits: humility, hunger, and hustle. We ask:
- Is this person teachable?
- Are they hungry for more of God and more responsibility?
- Do they follow through and serve without being seen?
Once you’ve spotted potential, the pathway is simple:
- Call it out – Most people don’t see what God has placed inside them until someone names it.
- Walk with them – Meet regularly. Ask intentional questions. Let them watch you lead, pray, prep, and pastor.
- Give them reps – Don’t just teach leadership. Entrust leadership. Let them lead something real—with real feedback.
- Multiply the mindset – Teach them to reproduce what you’re doing with them in others.
If Jesus changed the world by discipling twelve, what might happen if we did the same?
Discipleship = Relationship + Reproducibility
We often complicate discipleship with content-heavy classes, but at its core, discipleship is relational and reproducible. If it doesn’t multiply, it’s not discipleship—it’s just mentorship.
To embed a missional culture, we must equip every believer to think: Who’s one person I can invite, invest in, and eventually release?
That’s how the early church spread. Not through platforms, but through people. Not through mass events, but around dinner tables. Disciples who made disciples. Leaders who raised more leaders. Churches that planted more churches.
Equip Everyday Missionaries
Don’t just raise staff—raise sent ones.
The Great Commission wasn’t given to the paid few; it was given to the everyday many. That means our job as pastors and leaders isn’t to do the ministry, but to equip the saints for the ministry (Eph. 4:12).
Equip people to:
- Share their story and the gospel clearly.
- See their workplace as a mission field.
- Pray for and engage their neighbors.
- Live out the B.L.E.S.S. rhythms.
- Create margin for third spaces.
When you treat people like missionaries, they rise to it.
Hold the Map and the Mirror
Instilling missional DNA means constantly giving your people a map (here’s where we’re going) and a mirror (here’s how you’re doing). Many churches are vague about both.
Define the path clearly: What does a mature disciple look like? What are the rhythms of someone who lives the Jesus life? (At Riverside, we’ve defined this as Abide, Align, and Amplify.)
Then, give people tools to evaluate their journey and take the next step—whether that’s joining a team, launching a group, leading a discipleship circle, or planting a church.
Embrace a Sending Culture
Too many churches mourn when someone leaves to start something new. We should celebrate it.
Jesus didn’t hoard leaders. He sent them. Paul didn’t cling to Timothy or Titus. He commissioned them.
When you build a culture of celebration around sending, you shift from scarcity to multiplication. You stop fearing the loss of good people and start building systems to send them out with blessing.
It might hurt. It might feel costly. But sending is the fruit of a missional church—and the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
What if God has given us one more day—not just to go through the motions, but to have one more conversation that could change someone’s eternity?
What if today is the day one more person says yes to Jesus because you chose to live sent?
Final Word: From Addition to Multiplication
The American church has settled for addition—one more service, one more group, one more attender. But Jesus called us to multiplication—disciples who make disciples, leaders who raise leaders, churches that plant churches.
If we want to see that kind of movement, it starts by instilling a missional identity into the core of our churches and raising up ordinary people to live with gospel intentionality.
The mission is not a ministry. It’s our mandate.
The Church is not a cruise ship. It’s an aircraft carrier.
And every believer is not a passenger—but part of the crew.
So let’s get to work.
Let’s equip, send, and multiply.
Let’s raise up leaders and release them to the fields.
Let’s fulfill the Great Commission—together.
Chris Phillips is the Lead Pastor of Riverside Church in Denver.
