EVANGELII GAUDIUM - page 19

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CHAPTER ONE
THE CHURCH’S MISSIONARY
TRANSFORMATION
19. Evangelization takes place in obedience to
the missionary mandate of Jesus: “Go therefore
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all
that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20). In
these verses we see how the risen Christ sent his
followers to preach the Gospel in every time and
place, so that faith in him might spread to every
corner of the earth.
I. A church which goes forth
20. The word of God constantly shows us how
God challenges those who believe in him “to go
forth”. Abraham received the call to set out for
a new land (cf. Gen 12:1-3). Moses heard God’s
call: “Go, I send you” (Ex 3:10) and led the peo-
ple towards the promised land (cf. Ex 3:17). To
Jeremiah God says: “To all whom I send you, you
shall go” (Jer 1:7). In our day Jesus’ command to
“go and make disciples” echoes in the changing
scenarios and ever new challenges to the Church’s
mission of evangelization, and all of us are called
to take part in this new missionary “going forth”.
Each Christian and every community must dis-
cern the path that the Lord points out, but all