When Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples He had one last command for them:
"Go into all the world and preach the Good News to all creation." (Mark 16:15)
But Matthew's Gospel provides a more complete rendition of the Great Commission:
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."~ Matthew 28:18-20
That's a big responsibility and 2,000 years later it looks like they did a pretty amazing job based on the worldwide family of believers today. How has the Gospel endured 2,000 years? Because Christ's command was not just for those eleven. It is also for every one of us who will believe. Mark's Gospel records Jesus' bluntness on this: "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:16)
Those who took these words seriously are the reason Christianity is known to us today. They understood that the Great Commission was passed on to them as soon as they believed.
And it is passed on to you, now. Who in your family does not believe? Who among your friends remains unsaved? Have you made disciples of them? Have you taught them Jesus' commands? If not, Jesus says they are condemned. That's an incentive to go to all your family and friends, then to all around you, then to the world and preach the Good News, so that you won't have their condemnation on your conscience after they die.
But what if you were never taught? I didn't understand the faith I had entered into for many, many years. Embarrassed to admit it, I just talked the talk. But at some point, it "clicked" for me - the Holy Spirit finally reached me and I sought to be taught. Bible Study Fellowship International continues to play a big role in my education, but that is not all God requires. We must be mentored from the beginning.
If today is your beginning, seek out a mentor, an earthly teacher of God's law, to help keep you accountable. Until then, commit to reading the Bible every day for 30 minutes with pen in hand, writing questions you need answers to. And pray every morning and night for that mentor to come into your life, and for insight into your daily reading and questions.
Remember Jesus' words, "Surely I am with you always."