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The mission of God exists for the glory of God, and the glory of God is the end for which God created the world. God created the world so that man, who is made in His image, would have the earth to inhabit, fill, and rule over. From all eternity, God purposed to save people from every tribe, tongue, and nation for Himself so that He would be glorified. Since God is sufficient in Himself and needs nothing, He does not need us. But the good news is that God desires us, created us, and saved us for His glory. All that God created and all that God sovereignly sustains throughout the world and throughout the universe are for the purpose of His having a people for Himself for His ultimate glory. Simply put, creation is ultimately for the church, and the church is ultimately for the glory of God.
The church on earth throughout history is the visible, called-out assembly of God’s people. Fundamentally, this is why we as the people of God don’t go to church on the Lord’s Day—we are the church, and we go to worship. The buildings in which we worship are sanctuaries where the church of Jesus Christ gathers weekly to worship our holy and triune God. As we gather, wherever we are throughout the world, we are helping to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus Christ as we continually take part in the ordinary means of grace and learn as Christ’s disciples to observe all that Christ commanded.
Making disciples is what the Great Commission is all about, and that is why the one, holy, catholic (universal), and Apostolic church, both locally and globally, is about church planting. For where the gospel is preached, by God’s sovereign grace, the church is planted as believers gather together from every tribe, tongue, and nation. That is why church planting is not merely something we do; it is fundamental to who we are. We are the church—planted by the preaching of the gospel, which is the power of God to salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, through the powerful work of the Spirit of God for the glory of God. This is why faithful local churches throughout the world will always be fully committed to the ongoing work of church planting and caring well for church planters and their families, because this is the very reason we exist—for the church and for the mission of God for the ultimate glory of God.