When we describe ourselves by our mission, we are saying,
“because we are
Transformed by the grace of Jesus’ death and resurrection on our behalf,
we are delighting in the supremacy of God in all things as we
reach up to Him in worship, reach in to one another with care,
and reach out to the world with Christ.”
So that in everything Christ might be preeminent.
Colossians 1:18
This statement is about identity and mission. The statement works like this – because of who we are, this is what we do. More specifically, because we belong to Christ, we must therefore reach up to him, reach in to each other, and reach out to the world. Identity and mission are intertwined. Being and doing are executed through faithfulness.
Our mission statement is rooted in the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. Both are found in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 28:19-20 reads,
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 22:36-40 relates the interaction between Jesus and a scribal inquisitor:
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Whether we are gathering for worship on Sunday, participating in a Bible study or fellowship group, or going into the community for Friday at the Crossroads, to serve at Bread of Life, or Plateau Pregnancy the measure of our success is not the numbers of people gathered but the faithfulness of God’s people to be and do who and what He has called them to be and do.