Fulfilling the Great Commission in OUR Lifetime?!
I have had the joy of knowing Dr. Joseph Umidi since October of 1991, when my family first relocated from Texas to Virginia Beach and sat right in front of him and his wife, Marie, at church. Over the past thirty-five years, Joseph has been an encourager, a motivator, and an authentic Holy Spirit practitioner. While many approach education purely from an intellectual standpoint, Joseph’s heartbeat has always been to look people in the eye, stir up love and good works, and train disciples who actually do the work of ministry. In our recent conversation on Learning to Lead, we unpacked his journey and how God redirected his retirement plans into an urgent new assignment.
Early in his academic tenure, Joseph recognized that passing out handouts and transferring information wasn't producing lasting transformation. That discovery led him to examine the Gospels and identify the coaching questions Jesus used to develop His followers. Out of that revelation, he pioneered Lifeforming Leadership Coaching, an initiative that has trained thousands of Christian coaches across 29 countries and 14 languages to ask intentional questions and build reproducible disciples. Coaching is not merely a secular business tool; when built on a biblical foundation, it is one of the sharpest instruments we have for leadership formation and intentional disciple-making.
Today, that same practitioner mindset is shaping the newly launched Center for the Great Commission at Regent University. Under Chancellor Gordon Robertson’s leadership, long-standing organizational silos are coming down, creating direct bridges between academic training and international ministry hubs like CBN International, Operation Blessing, and Orphan’s Promise. Instead of confining mission preparation to textbooks, the Center is integrating 21 field-tested ministry competencies into course syllabi and sending student-staff teams to safe, established global fields where they can experience the power of the Gospel firsthand.
Completing the Great Commission in our lifetime requires both sound biblical fidelity and the manifest demonstration of the Holy Spirit. We cannot rely on human wisdom or detached cultural observation alone; we need radicalized believers who step out in faith, encounter God on the front lines, and return equipped to conduct serious research and ignite local churches. Whether you are a pastor looking to partner as a missional hub or a believer eager to grow in disciple-making, now is the time to move beyond the classroom and step into God’s global harvest.
Featured Resources & Links:
Center for the Great Commission at Regent University: Explore programs, mission mobilization, and research initiatives at regent.edu/center-for-the-great-commission.
Lifeforming Leadership Coaching: Discover premier Christian coach training based on the Jesus model at lifeformingcoach.com.
A Special Thanks to Our Sponsors:
Redwoods Stewardship: Helping churches and nonprofits unlock sustainable donor support and financial health. Visit them at redwoodsstewardship.com.
Chosen Helpers Handyman Services: Providing reliable, expert home repairs and maintenance across the Hampton Roads region. Visit them at chosenhelpershandyservices.jobbersites.com.
LEC (Life Enrichment Center): Empowering the next generation through literacy, LEC provides vital reading tutoring and enrichment programs to help elementary students thrive. Learn how you can volunteer, support, or get involved today: Visit https://lecliteracy.org.