Prayer Focus: For The Wesleyan Church to boldly embrace God’s mission in here, near, hard and far places.

Scripture: Acts 1:4-8

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;
and you will be my witnesses …” (v. 8)

In the eight “Mission Impossible” blockbuster movies, just like the 1960s TV show from which they are inspired, the famous words, “this mission, should you choose to accept it…,” are heard. Once the mission is accepted, the rest of the movie is a living out of the implications of that decision. Members of the team, equipment, travel plans, strategy and escape routes are all down river consequences of choosing to accept the mission. If there were no mission, there would be no IMF (Impossible Missions Force) and all the decisions we see lived out on the screen would not exist. There would be no story. There would be no movie.

The mission is the organizing principle for everything.

And so, it should be for followers of Christ. In Matthew 28, the disciples receive part of the mission: “Go … make … baptize … teach.” Now in Acts 1:8 the disciples receive the second half of the mission. Empowered by the Holy Spirit they are to be witnesses throughout the world, or as John Wesley would famously state, “the world” was to be their parish. And this twin-headed mission of “bearing witness” and “making disciples” was THE organizing principle for the early church. Literally, everything they did was done in support of THE mission.

The characters in “Mission Impossible” never forgot the mission. Nor should we. We are called by a Holy God to spread the hope of salvation and the message of holiness to a world that is lost and in need of more than a salvation that only works for the next life but offers little for this one.

We need to boldly embrace our MISSION.

Prayer Prompt: God, you have invited us into your mission. For those of us who have chosen to accept this mission, we ask that you empower us as your church once again by your Holy Spirit to be witnesses of your hope and holiness today. In Jesus’ name we ask this, amen.

Jon Kulaga

*This entry is part of the “EMPOWERED: 15th General Conference Prayer Initiative,” created to guide Wesleyans in 30 days of intentional prayer for The Wesleyan Church and its 2026 General Conference.

Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.