According to the cultural mandate of Genesis 1:28, all human beings made in God’s image have the privilege and responsibility of caring for the earth. It is good to provide for our families and work with integrity. The local church, however, has a different calling. Likewise, not everything Scripture commands Christians to do applies in the same way to the church at large.

In this video, young pastors Kevin DeYoung, Greg Gilbert, and Ryan Kelly seek clarity for the missional buzzword as they consider the particular calling God has given the local church. Jesus commissioned the apostles to make disciples and proclaim the gospel (Matt. 28:18-20). So is that the extent of the church’s calling today? Or should the church branch out into other good ventures as part of its mission?

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Kevin DeYoung (PhD, University of Leicester) is senior pastor of Christ Covenant Church (PCA) in Matthews, North Carolina, and associate professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte). He is the author of more than 20 books and a popular columnist, blogger, and podcaster. Kevin’s work can be found on clearlyreformed.org. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have nine children.

Greg Gilbert is the senior pastor of Third Avenue Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of What Is the Gospel? (Crossway, 2010), Assured: Discover Grace, Let Go of Guilt, and Rest in Your Salvation (Baker, 2019), and the commentary in the ESV Story of Redemption Bible (Crossway, 2018). He is the co-author of What Is the Mission of the Church?: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission (Crossway, 2011). You can follow him on Twitter.

Ryan Kelly (PhD, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) is the pastor for preaching at Desert Springs Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a Council member of The Gospel Coalition. Among other publications, he contributed to The Ashgate Research Companion on John Owen’s Theology. He and his wife, Sarah, have four children.