The Most Important Thing You Can Do

What do you think is the most important thing Christians can do to advance the kingdom of God?

If we posed this question to professing believers throughout the United States, the responses would be eye-opening. Many influential church leaders would advocate watering down the truth for mass consumption. Yet, we know that is not how the Great Commission will succeed. The Bible gives a strikingly different answer.

The most essential thing we can do today to further the kingdom of God is to pray (Matt. 6:10).

Our Lord’s kingdom is not of this world, so it cannot be advanced by worldly means (John 18:36). Delivering souls lost in sin and hardened in unbelief requires nothing less than the sovereign, saving power of Jesus Christ in the gospel (2 Cor. 10:3–6). Christ alone is the conquering Redeemer whom even the gates of hell cannot withstand (Matt. 16:18). Therefore, Christians must call upon the Lord in dependent prayer as we heed His command to make disciples in His name, by His power and for His glory (Matt. 28:18–20).

Ligonier Ministries aims to glorify God by equipping the global church with the truth of God’s Word in obedience to the Great Commission. We know this urgently needed Bible-teaching outreach could not continue for a moment apart from God’s provision through friends such as you.

Dr. R.C. Sproul continually underscored the role of prayer in the Christian life and the church’s mission. He emphasized prayer because he emphasized the sovereignty of God. After all, if God did not have absolute control over creation, history, and our individual lives, what use would there be in bringing our requests to Him? Rather, as R.C. reminded us,

“We pray expectantly and confidently, not in spite of the sovereignty of God, but because of it.”

God delights in using our prayers to accomplish His purposes in building His church and redeeming souls from every tongue, tribe, and nation.

The global gospel outreach of Ligonier Ministries is a testament to God’s sovereign kindness in answering the prayers of His people. Looking over 2023, I am amazed at everything the Lord did through the prayers and financial gifts of friends such as you. Last year, God used your prayerful and financial support to:

• reach more than 100 million people with trusted biblical teaching, a ministry milestone representing an astonishing 42 percent increase in our reach from 2022;
• launch five new dedicated-language websites to make more of Ligonier’s biblical teaching readily available in Indonesian, Russian, Ukrainian, Urdu, and Turkish;
• deepen Ligonier’s discipleship library by publishing a number of books and releasing many new teaching series from gifted teachers;
• distribute thousands of copies of the Reformation Study Bible throughout Africa to serve church leaders who lack the essential study helps that Christians enjoy in the West;
• significantly enhance the free Ligonier app to make our vast teaching library even more accessible to growing Christians;
• translate millions of words of teaching to serve the global church with books, articles, and teaching series now available in 52 languages;
• gather Christians around the truth at events and livestreams, including conferences in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom and numerous Always Ready student events hosted across America;
• increase the reach of our podcast library with the yearlong release of Dr. Sinclair Ferguson’s popular devotional podcast, Things Unseen;
• partner with correctional facility chaplains to provide biblical teaching materials and the hope of the gospel to thousands of inmates through Ligonier’s Prison Outreach;
• and equip hundreds of military chaplains with discipleship resource packages to help serve the spiritual needs of soldiers through the Military Chaplain Outreach.

The Lord hears the prayers of His people and uses our petitions as He takes His Word to the nations (2 Thess. 3:1). We are so thankful for these opportunities to participate with you in advancing God’s kingdom to the ends of the earth.

We can see even more expansive outreach opportunities for 2024. Following the mission entrusted to us by Dr. Sproul to reach as many people as possible, Ligonier is striving to develop sustained and substantial ministry in the most-spoken languages. Billions of souls still need access to this teaching fellowship’s faithful theological material, and the rising generations need clear biblical direction for navigating our changing world. Ligonier remains committed to serving God’s kingdom and helping people grow in His truth. But if we are to see a fruitful year ahead, we need your help.

I want to encourage you, as a friend of Ligonier, to make two commitments in 2024:

• First, please pray throughout this year for continued faithfulness in the outreach of Ligonier and our shared aim of supporting growing Christians worldwide.
• Second, please continue to support the ministry financially to further gospel outreach in 2024. Our costs have increased, but we don’t want to slow down, and you can help us press forward with strength.

To thank you for your support this month, we’ll send you a book that R.C. identified as a great aid to his prayer life: The Valley of Vision. Since my own college days, I have turned to this classic book that draws from the written prayers of English and American Puritans—wise pastors and teachers who excelled in praying with doctrinal precision and insightful depth. The Bible-saturated, God-centered prayers of these forefathers model how Christians today can pray with worshipful reverence. We’ll send you the bonded leather edition of The Valley of Vision in appreciation for your gift of any amount.

Our sovereign Lord is advancing His kingdom worldwide, and He is using Ligonier to help the church in its calling to make disciples of all nations. We are praying that God will richly bless our gospel outreach in 2024 toward this end, and your donation today can be part of the answer to these prayers.

Thank you for being committed to praying for this ministry and its kingdom work so that more disciples may become grounded in the historic Christian faith.