Is the Great Commission About Evangelism or "Making Disciples?"

The passage known as the great commission states:    Matt: 19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”   We often hear we are to be "evangelistic."  In the common parlance of Christians born when most had modern world-view, this translated into the need for one of two things: 1) Sending missionaries overseas or 2) Locally, to be conducting "home bible studies".   In both cases the emphasis was on getting those that heard to obey the five steps of "The Plan of Salvation." Evangelism essentially consisted of getting others to accept our particular brand of Christianity.  This  was though  accepting what we believed to be the organization and worship practices of the first century church.  Though many aspects of the Restoration Movement were indeed laudable,  I wonder if in this process we might have missed the mark of the imperatives in the Great Commission.

For example, the word translated from the Greek for "evangelist" means one who announces good news.  Our good news was to center on Christ.  As one who taught "Home Bible Studies", I know the charts we used focused on the establishment of the church at Pentecost.  The charts before Pentecost predicted this event.  The charts after  Pentecost focused on organization and worship of the church.  My wife and I created a separate chart on the life of Christ because none existed.  Hence, in the 1950-1970's the emphasis in evangelism seemed to be on "church".  But, doesn't this miss the point of the good news of the Story of Redemption embodied in Christ life, death, and resurrection?

I would suggest that this was a grievous error which missed the point of making disciples.  It was further hindered and compounded by the approach used.  Note the Great Commission says we are to "make disciples" and "teach them to observe all I have commanded you."  If the emphasis was on the "five steps" and church ecclesiology where does that leave "making disciples?"  What does it mean to be a "disciple?" It certainly means to be a follower.  Here the embodiment  of this idea is entirely in the person of Jesus.  This means we must determine how to be Christ-like and teach others to do so.  It means Christ's mission in the world must be our mission.  To do this we must do the things that Christ did in the way that He did with the attitude that He had.  Of course as mere humans we cannot possibly live up to this.  But, thanks for his Grace, we don't have to worry.  I would suggest being Christ-like has little to do with our previous emphasis on church organization and particular traditional rules for "doing church".  We should instead be "doing Christ".

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