The Mission: To build a reproducible alternative community of faith, having a distinct set of values: Relationally motivated and people focused; Demonstrating a lifestyle of unity amongst the community of believers; Engage the culture and love beyond it; To be messengers of hope, peace and grace in the lives of those we intersect and make disciples.
Equipping Disciples to be Ministers: Scripture shows us that all of us are called to "ministry," the 5-fold gifts were given for the equipping of the saints: Ephesians 4.11 – 12: 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. If we are to build missionally, we must build our disciples into ministers.
Equipping Missionaries to GO OUT into our Community: Our local community is the Mission Field. Our goal is to reclaim the phrase "Think globally, act locally." We have all been given the ministry of reconciliation. Reconciling brother to brother, sister to sister as well as reconciling man to God, through Christ: II Corinthians 5.17 – 18: 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. We must then build our ministers into missionaries with the mission of reconciliation.
Journey focused and process orientated: Life is lived in the dash between the date we were born and the day we die. This is where we find salvation and the ability to share our journeys with one another. Romans 12.1 – 2: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. We must build our missionaries into disciple makers to start the process again!
It is a change of focus from the traditional church:
From being program focused to processes oriented
From uniformity of programs to diversity of gifts
From professional to passionate
From seating people to sending emissaries of the Kingdom
From decisions on Sunday to disciples on Monday
From additional to exponential through multiplication
From monuments of accomplishment to a world changing movement
My hearts desire is to build a congregation where people are exploring and rediscovering what it means to be Jesus' sent people as their identity. Engaging WITH the culture and BEING Jesus among them. Bearing the gifts of strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow; changing the world one life at a time.
The love of Jesus compels us to follow his example to love others; not as the world does, for what they can get from others, but instead for what we can give away to them... New life in Jesus.
Grow the saved, save the lost, care for the downtrodden!
