02 | Missional
We embrace a missionary understanding of the local church and its role as the primary means by which God establishes his kingdom.
The Scriptures reveal a God on mission, sending his Son to seek and save what has been lost, and then sending his Spirit to empower his people to carry on his mission. In the life and ministry of Jesus, and through his death and resurrection, the Kingdom of God is breaking into this world. The church has a clear biblical mandate to look beyond its own community to the neighborhood, the nation, and the world as a whole; thus, mission is not an optional program in the church but an essential element in the identity of the church. We are called to make Christ known through the gospel and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring his lordship to bear on every dimension of life. The primary way we fulfill this mission is through making disciples, training leaders, forming missional communities, and planting churches that plant churches. Our aim is that Jesus Christ would be more fully formed in each person through the ministry of those churches God enables us to plant around the world. We also believe we are responsible neither to retreat from our culture nor to conform to it, but with humility, through the Spirit and the truth of the gospel, to engage it boldly as we seek its transformation and submission to the lordship of Christ.
In what ways do you replace the mission of Jesus for lesser, often busier missional activity?
In what areas are you functioning out of a place of overflow from the goodness of God? What areas feel more forced and closer to burnout?
Where do you see God giving you favor?
Read together our Missional summary. What excites you about living missional?
May 15, 2022 - Gabe Shippam