The Slogan Isn’t the Mission

I saw it on a shirt recently.

Worship. Nurture. Serve. Repeat.

It looked good. It sounded right. But it stuck with me in a way I couldn’t shake, not because I loved it, but because something felt off.

And here’s why.

If that’s the rhythm of the Church today, we need to stop and ask:
What are we actually repeating?
Because from what I’ve seen, on the field and in the Church, it’s not the Great Commission.

Worship?

In a lot of churches now, worship is a production
Not an offering

It’s lights, a stage, and a signup sheet
We’ve created a system where you have to apply to be allowed to lead worship

And half the songs aren’t even about God
They’re about us
Our victory
Our strength
Our enemies being defeated

Where is the surrender?
Where is the awe?
Where is the fear of the Lord?

Nurture?

We say we’re nurturing believers
But fewer and fewer people are being discipled

We have more cameras than disciplers
More online content than real-life conversations

We’ve made church accessible
But not transformative

We’re raising up followers
But not laborers
And it shows

Serve?

There are churches that will send a full team on a mission trip to post pictures —
But won’t help the single mom in the parking lot because she’s not a tithing member

We’ve professionalized serving
Polished it
Made it safe

And we’ve lost the wild heart of a Savior who served the least, not the most convenient

Repeat?

This is the part that gets me
We do it all again next Sunday
Next quarter
Next year

But meanwhile, the American rhythm is this:
Eat. Sleep. TV. Home improvement. Repeat.

That’s what our comfort culture has discipled people into
And if we’re honest, we’ve baptized that rhythm with just enough religion to make it feel holy

But it’s not
It’s just busy
And it’s not sending anyone

At this rate, it’ll take another 150 years to reach the unreached
Because we’re too busy repeating what’s easy
Instead of obeying what’s hard

I’m not mad at the Church
I’m just convicted by what we’ve become
And heartbroken over what we’ve forgotten

The mission was never meant to be something we fit into our free time
It was supposed to be the center of our lives

Jesus never said, Worship. Nurture. Serve. Repeat.
He said, Go. Make disciples. Preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

So let’s stop repeating the slogan
And start obeying the command.

– Trish 💛