The Great Mission

"You cannot understand the church unless you understand the mission of the church." (Taken from the Acts 29 Network blog.) Continuing that thought... We cannot understand what God has called us to do unless we understand how God called us. He called us before time began to be His children, which was accomplished upon the cross by His Son, Jesus Christ. His Birth, life, death and resurrection were all for us. How he lived - is for us. Christ poured out His love and life for those who were spiritually sick, He came to help sinners with the message of eternal life. I can elaborate on this more, but to sum up, God called us through the Good News. (We deserve Hell, yet God sent His Son to heal those who believe in Him)

What is the Mission of the Church?
Christ states it plainly with the great commission, "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, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you." The purpose of the church first and foremost is to win souls, to preach the gospel wherever and whenever to all people. Secondly the goal of the church is to disciple (teach and train) all who are baptized, that they may be like Jesus.

Every man and woman who professes Jesus Christ as their Lord (Romans 10:9) is part of the family of God, the Bride of Christ, the church. This commission, Jesus gave to every person in the church. No one is excluded from the gentle demands Christ made on our lives. While the world yells, You Hypocrites! Christ will hold all his people accountable to the mission that He laid before us. Which is daunting, yet His 'grace is sufficient for you.' It is a joy to carry the message of Christ - that He died, lived and ascended that we would have eternity with the Father. To tell the world that Christ loves us because He loves us, even when we rebelled against Him.

"We are more sinful than we could have ever realized, but we are more loved than we could have ever imagined." Tim Keller (paraphrase)