Our Mission

A.             The Great Commission,

Matthew 28:18-20: Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  19 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,  20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

B.             The Great Commandment:

Matthew 22:34-40: Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.  35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:  36 ‘‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: ”‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  38 This is the first and greatest commandment.  39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

A.             Reach people: EVANGELISM

·       The first task is to reach those who are lost.  Jesus came to seek and to save those who were lost.  This mission continues in His Church.

·       To accomplish this strategic task we will maintain and develop programs and ministries aimed at evangelism, pre-evangelism [1] ; community service, and care ministries.  We will encourage attendees to cultivate relationships with those outside the church.

·       The goal is to introduce people to Jesus Christ so that they can respond in repentance, faith, and full commitment to Him. 

·       The result will be a church that is growing with new believers where every member feels the responsibility and privilege of reaching out to lost people.

B.             Teach people:  DISCIPLESHIP

·       The next task is to teach those who have been reached.  Once someone meets Christ and becomes a new creation through His blood, the role of the church has only begun.  We are also called to help people to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).

·       To accomplish this strategic task we will maintain and develop programs and ministries aimed at discipleship. This includes equipping believers to share the faith, to use one’s spiritual gifts, and to grow in spiritual disciplines.  Worship, pastoral care, and loving service are essential parts of discipleship as well.

·       The goal is to grow believers into spiritual maturity.

·       The result will be a church where every member of the body is continuously learning, being challenged, encouraged, and growing into the image of Jesus Christ.

C.             Send people:  DEPLOYMENT

·       Finally, we want to send those who have been taught.  The church exists not for itself… but for others.  Disciples are meant to reproduce discipleship in others!  We dream of the day when every disciple will know his spiritual gift and be using it in ministry to reach and teach others to be reproducing disciples.  Through "one reaching one" multiplication, the reach of the church and the power of the Gospel can reach the ends of the earth.  

·       To accomplish this strategic task we will maintain and develop programs and ministries devoted to equipping the saints for the work of ministry.

·       The goal is a church that has a gift-based ministry where every member of the body is passionately involved in service.

·       The result will be a community of faith where every member is passionately committed to ministry in the church or through the church in local or global missions.

A disciple is a person who follows Jesus Christ (Matthew 4:19).  Such a person is passionate about growing in knowledge of God, in Christ-like character, and in loving service.

A.  The Disciple's Identity:  "A disciple is someone who follows Jesus Christ…"

The word disciple means "an apprentice."  It denotes someone who learns by following.  In the Bible, people who believed Jesus and obeyed His teaching were called "disciples" [2] .

True discipleship is found only in devotion to Jesus Christ.  The word devoted means set apart, wholly given over, and dedicated for a particular use.  When asked what is the most important commandment, Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30-31).  A disciple is fully committed to understanding and living out love for God and neighbor.

As disciples, we purposefully declare that our Master, Savior, and Teacher is the Lord Jesus Christ^{. [3] .}

B. The Disciple's Journey:  “Such a person is passionate about growing in knowledge of God, in Christ-like character, and in loving service."

The journey of a disciple is one of continuous growth.  This growth should not cease until our last breath and we are ushered into His presence.  The more disciples grow, the more aware we become of how much more growth is needed.  As we grow in our knowledge of God's perfect holiness, justice, and righteousness, we became more aware of our own imperfections.

Knowledge of God.  There are two ways we must "know" God.  The first is to know about Him.  As we learn about His nature, attributes, and His truth, we establish a base of theology and doctrine that help us to discern right from wrong and understand His will.  The second is to know Him personally.  He declares His love for us, demonstrated on the cross.  He invites us to call Him Father and friend.  He commands us to love Him with all of our being.  We need to "know" the Gospel, His Word, our role in the body of Christ, and how to share our faith.  Much of this knowledge comes through the spiritual disciplines of Bible study, prayer, fellowship, and stewardship.  Our knowledge of God must go beyond head knowledge and become life-transforming, making us new creatures in Christ.

Christ-like Character.  Disciples are reborn, new creatures, being transformed into the likeness of Christ ^[4] .  Jesus modeled for us the life of a disciple.  He called His disciples "witnesses" which means “martyrs.”  Disciples are dying to selfish purposes and living for Christ’s purposes.  Others should see in us the love and character of Jesus Christ.  We become more Christ-like over time as we learn to listen, obey, and live out His attitudes in our relationships with one another.  Many of the qualities of Christ-like character are seen in the "fruit of the Spirit". ^[5]

Loving Service.  Jesus teaches that greatness in discipleship is measured in loving service ^[6] . The higher we rise in discipleship, the lower we stoop in service!  The disciple's life may be described as one of ongoing service that brings God glory and builds up other people.  God has given to each of His disciples "spiritual gifts" to be used in service ^[7] .  These gifts are given that we might glorify God and edify others in the Body of Christ. 

There is no greater joy than knowing God, becoming like Jesus, and serving in love!  From this, life derives its greatest fulfillment and satisfaction.  Ongoing growth is the normal biblical standard for all disciples of Jesus.  Each year we ought to know God, reflect Christ, and serve others more fully than we could the year before.  The epitaph of a faithful disciple should be that he or she knew God, was like Jesus, and a loving servant. 

 C. Three Areas of Growth for Every Disciple