“The Great Commission was always intended to be a group project.”

Keaton Koch is the Mobilization pastor at Grace Covenant Church in Austin, Texas.

I asked Keaton about the “M” word in his job title. Mobilize…who, for what?

“We pray to see where there is a genuine movement of God’s Spirit - discerning and witnessing where God is at work globally,” Keaton answered. “Then we help equip and guide people to join that motion. Mobilization.”

Keaton and his bride Liesha spent years experiencing international mission work firsthand. “Historically, people believed missions were for a few who were uniquely called,” Keaton told me. “The imaginary commitment threshold was to give up everything and ‘go overseas.’ Or take short trips where you might not feel like your skills were effectively used. There were - are - all these people in the middle ground who didn’t feel they could participate on those terms. But the Great Commission* was always intended to be a group project.”

In Keaton’s experience, there is a best order of operation to drive effective mobilization.

“We start with clear vision and values. For that we go to our authority, the Word of God. God revealed in Habakkuk 2:14 that ‘the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.’ It is essential,” Keaton observes, “that our work explains and glorifies our great God.”

Two other aspects of mobilization follow, as Keaton explains, “God communicates his Kingdom in the rule and reign of Jesus - a good and gracious King. We share the details of his merciful love and compassion for…everyone.”

Keaton became aware of the Global Switchboard volunteer resource in 2022. His team recognized its value in connecting skilled Believers from that previously untapped ‘middle ground.’ Stateside Believers can now minister and participate as intended in the Great Commission - without leaving home.

“In the field, we have incredible challenges that are not solved by money,” Keaton says. “Our greatest resource in the states is knowledge and creativity.” Keaton believes the storytelling of faith in action is incredibly important to inspire others. He has a few first-hand accounts of his own to share:

“We saw an amazing movement in Nepal and Northern India - multigenerational in nature. Entire households were coming to Jesus. We had assigned these 10 church planters, traditionally trained with seminary education. We needed to sustain their outstanding results with local income - and limit any external dependency. How to do that without stopping their work? We turned back to the states for creative ideas and business knowledge from experienced volunteers. They studied the available local resources and effectively narrowed a list of workable ideas to the best two: Purchase local taxis and invest in goat farming.”

Keaton calls this Business Accelerating Mission. “We didn’t just want to sustain and hang on - we wanted to accelerate even more the work of those church planters, allowing them to focus on mission while funding it locally.”

In the adjacent region of Bhutan, Keaton’s team kept hearing of regionalized cardiac/pulmonary health problems. Basically, heart disease was afflicting unreached people in the mountains. Keaton connected with a cardiologist stateside to better understand possible solutions. That led to transporting a portable - battery operated - EEG via backpack for diagnostic use, taking the team into villages with high incidences of heart disease. Where the Great Commission might not have reached under other circumstances.

Keaton wants to see more connections of skilled volunteerism like these. It’s in his job description. Mobilization. Following God’s heart.

The Switchboard platform is available today. I asked Keaton how other large churches might go about getting their congregations involved - so they too can participate in the Great Commission as a group project.

“Switchboard isn’t a ‘separate ministry’ that you give a table to at your annual ministry fair,” he cautioned. “That’s because everyone at your ministry fair should be doing this type of work.”

He explained further with this illustration, “Let’s say you have 1500 to 2000 people attending your church each week. I suspect you’ll have 10%, say 150 - 200 people who are ready to mobilize, just looking for a new form of volunteerism to apply their personal skills. Start there. Get 15-20 of those folks on Switchboard to prove the point and see what God does next.”

That’s mobilization, the Keaton Koch way. What are your plans to accelerate God’s mission?

Please share your own success stories at info@globalswitchboard.com

Be encouraged in all you do!

*Matthew 28: 18-20