Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Mission of the Church

Any biblical consideration of the mission of our church, of any church, must consider Christ's mission. Two tremendous passages that provide insight into this are the Great Commandment and the Great Commission:

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:36-40, NIV)

"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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20, NIV)

Bottom line - we want to be who God wants us to be and do what He wants us to do. Our mission is to live out the commandments of Jesus Christ. What does this involve? Looking at these two passages, we are to worship God with all that we are, fellowship with other believers, evangelize and disciple people, and serve others. Based on these biblical passages, this is how we see the mission of our church:

"Calvary Baptist Church is a is a community of faith encouraging the development of fully devoted followers of Christ through commitments to church membership, spiritual maturity, personal ministry and world missions."

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