After his death and resurrection, Jesus gave the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20, “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. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

As followers of Jesus, it is our duty to obey His command and take the Gospel to the ends of the earth, where there are still billions of people who have yet to hear of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

If you’re seeking inspiration for a passion for global missions, need content for a sermon or message on missions, or desire to know the Lord’s heart for missions, look no further. Here are 65 missions quotes from missionaries, pastors, authors, and scripture itself.

 

Missions Quotes by Missionaries

“God isn’t looking for people of great faith, but for individuals ready to follow Him.” —Hudson Taylor

“Missionaries are very human folks, just doing what they are asked. Simply a bunch of nobodies trying to exalt Somebody.” —Jim Elliot

“You have been speaking about William Carey. When I am gone, say nothing about William Carey; speak only about William Carey’s Savior.” —William Carey

“It was strictly forbidden to preach to other prisoners. It was understood that whoever was caught doing this received a severe beating. A number of us decided to pay the price for the privilege of preaching, so we accepted their (the communists’) terms. It was a deal; we preached and they beat us. We were happy preaching. They were happy beating us. So everyone was happy.” —Richard Wurmbrand

“If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” —C.T. Studd

“Any church not involved in the Great Commission has forfeited its Biblical right to exist.” —Oswald J. Smith

“People who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives, and when the bubble has burst, they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted.” —Nate Saint

“If God wills the evangelization of the world and you refuse to support missions, then you are opposed to the will of God.” — Oswald J. Smith

“Missionary zeal does not grow out of intellectual beliefs, nor out of theological arguments, but out of love.” —Roland Allen

“We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first.” —Oswald J. Smith

“Had I cared for the comments of people, I should never have been a missionary.” —C.T. Studd

“Here I am, send me; send me to the ends of the earth; send me to the rough, the savage pagans of the wilderness; send me from all that is called comfort on earth; send me even to death itself, if it be but in Thy service, and to promote Thy Kingdom.” —David Brainerd

“Oh, that I could spend every moment of my life to God’s glory!” —David Brainerd

“I cannot tell you what joy it gave me to bring the first soul to the Lord Jesus Christ. I have tasted almost all the pleasures that this world can give. I do not suppose there is one that I have not experienced, but I can tell you that those pleasures were as nothing compared to the joy that the saving of that one soul gave me.” —C.T. Studd

“All my desire was the conversion of the heathen… I declare, now I am dying, I would not have spent my life otherwise for the whole world.” —David Brainerd

 

Missions Quotes by Pastors and Authors

“To belong to Jesus is to embrace the nations with Him.” —John Piper

“Every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor.” —Charles Spurgeon

“A congregation that is not deeply and earnestly involved in the worldwide proclamation of the Gospel does not understand the nature of salvation.” —Ted Engstrom

“These bold brothers and sisters weren’t just willing to live for Jesus; they were willing to die for Him. I asked myself—as I have a thousand times since—why are so few of us in America willing to live for Jesus when others are so willing to die for Him? Seeing Jesus through the eyes of the persecuted church transformed me.” —Johnnie Moore

“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” —John Piper

“The Christian is not obedient unless he is doing all in his power to send the Gospel to the heathen world.” —A.B. Simpson

“Whatever we do, we must not treat the Great Commission like it’s the Great Suggestion.” —Charles R. Swindoll

“God is pursuing with omnipotent passion a worldwide purpose of gathering joyful worshipers for Himself from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. He has an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the supremacy of His Name among the nations. Therefore, let us bring our affections into line with His, and, for the sake of His name, let us renounce the quest for worldly comforts and join His global purpose.” —John Piper

“Missions is not for the hyperactive Christians in the church. Missions is the purpose of the church.” —Robby Gallaty

“The Great Commission says to make disciples, not get followers. There is a difference.” —Miguel Nunez

“If you take missions out of the Bible, you won’t have anything left but the covers.” —Nina Gunter

“If a missionary is offended that you ask for a description of what she did during the past week or month, be concerned. A willingness to move overseas for the Gospel doesn’t say anything about their character, competence, or work ethic.” —Andy Johnson

“The church was God’s idea. It is His one and only organizational plan for world missions. Any humanly invented organizations that assist in missions must remember that they are the bridesmaids, not the bride.” —Andy Johnson

“You have one business on earth—to save souls.” —John Wesley

“I believe, as followers of Christ, we are commanded to reach out to the least of these in the name of Jesus and show them they matter a great deal to God, who sacrificed His only Son to reach them with His love.” —K.P. Yohannan

“‘Not called!” Did you say? ‘Not heard the call,’ I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin.” —William Booth

“Go, send, or disobey.” —John Piper

“Every Christian a missionary; every non-Christian a mission-field.” —Winkie Pratney

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry “Mine!” —Abraham Kuyper

“The way you store up treasure in heaven is by investing in getting people there.” —Rick Warren

 

Quotes About Missions

“We are debtors to every man to give him the Gospel in the same measure in which we have received it.” —P.F. Bresee

“I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light.” —John Keith Falconer

“If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?” —David Livingstone

“I believe that in each generation God has called enough men and women to evangelize all the yet unreached tribes of the earth. It is not God who does not call, it is man who will not respond.” —Isobel Kuhn

“The concern for world evangelization is not something tacked onto a man’s personal Christianity which he may take or leave as he chooses. It is rooted in the character of the God who has come to us in Christ Jesus. Thus, it can never be the province of a few enthusiasts, a sideline, or a specialty of those who happen to have a bent that way. It is the distinctive mark of being a Christian.” —James S. Stewart

“The Gospel is only good news if it gets there in time.” —Carl F.H. Henry

“The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed.” —Hudson Taylor

“The command has been to “go,” but we have stayed—in body, gifts, prayer, and influence. He has asked us to be witnesses unto the uttermost parts of the earth… but 99% of Christians have kept puttering around in the homeland.” —Robert Savage

“If the Great Commission is true, our plans are not too big; they are too small.” —Pat Morely

“The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become.” —Henry Martyn

“I have but one passion—it is He, it is He alone. The world is the field and the field is the world; and henceforth that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ.” —Count Zinzindorf

“Never pity missionaries; envy them. They are where the real action is–where life and death, sin and grace, heaven and hell converge.” —Robert C. Shannon

“Go ye’ is as much a part of Christ’s Gospel as ‘Come unto Me.’ You are not even a Christian until you have honestly faced your responsibility in regard to the carrying of the Gospel to the ends of the earth.” —J. Stuart Holden

“It is not in our choice to spread the Gospel or not. It is our death if we do not.” —Peter Taylor Forsyth

“God is a God of missions. He wills missions. He commands missions. He demands missions. He made missions possible through His Son. He made missions actual in sending the Holy Spirit.” —George W. Peters

“Missions is the natural response to believing the Gospel.” —Cale Etter

 

Missions Related Quotes From the Bible

“For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Good News!” —Romans 10:13-15

“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation.” —Mark 16:15

“For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” —Acts 13:47

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” —Luke 10:2

“Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples!” —Psalm 96:3

“Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless His name; tell of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens…” —Psalm 96:1-13

“Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” —John 20:21

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” —Acts 1:8

“And I heard a voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”‘ —Isaiah 6:8

“All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.” —Psalm 22:27

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”‘ —Isaiah 52:7

“Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” —Psalm 46:10

“Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal Gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.” —Revelation 14:6

“This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” — Jesus (Matthew 24:14)