Our Mission
Scripture: Proverbs 29:18
Introduction:
Proverbs 29:18 says the following and I will be reading from the Amplified version of the Bible: “Where there is no vision, no redemptive revelation of God, the people perish; but he who keeps the law of God, which includes that of man, blessed, happy, fortunate and enviable is he.” (Proverbs 29:18) This verse speaks to how the revealed word of God empowers us to be restrained from evil. It actually says that the revelation from God’s word will keep us from perishing. At the time that this wisdom was given, the revelations of God came through the prophets. God used the prophets to reveal his plans and guidance for His people. Every time that they strayed away from what God had told them to do, they got into trouble. Whenever their focus was taken off of the direction that God had given them, they entered into sin and some perished due to their sins. It was God’s word and direction being revealed through His prophets that kept the people from perishing.
So let’s bring this verse forward several thousands of years. Today this same wisdom applies to us with the exception that we have the wisdom of God spoken in one volume (the Bible) and we can now speak to God directly without the need of a prophet because of Jesus Christ. Prior to Jesus Christ coming, the “non-prophets” had to hear from God through the prophets. What we need to understand is that as Christians we have the right and the expectation that God will speak to us about our situation. We are His children and He is our Father. I do not talk to my children through a mediator, I talk to them in a manner that hopefully they can understand me if they listen. God does the same with us – He wants to talk with us and He uses several methods. He will speak to our spirits through the Holy Spirit; He will give us dreams and visions; and yes, there are times when He may speak directly to us – if we are open to listening and hearing Him.
I’ve shared this background with you because I want to reapply this verse to our Church and what God told me to do eight years ago. I thought I had done a good job but the blinders have been pulled off and I see that I have not. We will start correcting this today.
I. Our Mission Statement
As we continue our transition into this community, we have embarked on a journey to fully define who we are as we understand what God has called us to do. To that end in the adult and youth Bible study classes we have begun reading a book titled “Simple Church” by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger. This book was chosen because it’s content focuses on how to make disciples for Christ in a simple fashion. As I began reading the book, I was excited with some of the concepts that I read as I thought that we have been on the right track. We did – in my opinion – have a simple mission and focused, but we were not really executing on it completely. So as I was reading the book, my mind went to places where we can get better. (By the way, the definition of mission is “sending out or being sent out to perform a special service.”) Keep this definition in mind.
In our first class session, we discussed the first two chapters and I asked the class who could tell me what our mission statement was. I was happy as I knew everyone would know what this Church was about – or what our mission was. Again, I had blinders on as the only person who knew was the secretary and Kim said it was because she sees it all the time (something I took note of.). That was an awakening moment because I truly assumed that everyone knew. Not wanting to believe that no one could tell me, I asked a few people on the following Sunday morning to tell me what our mission statement says. I got several answers but none that fully captured what we are “supposed” to be about. Again, I was awakened to the fact that our mission had been lost because we could not explain to anyone what we are about. So let me refresh your memory as to what our mission statement says.
When this Church was conceived, God told me to do two things. Let me read our mission statement to you and explain what it means. Our mission statement says: “To establish a community Church that will minister to the spiritual needs of everyone. A Church not established solely on the calling and gifts of one person, but corporately on the calling and gifts of all its members. A Church that worships God freely while serving one another in love and unity."
The first part of the statement is something that most Churches do – minister to the spiritual needs of everyone. So this first statement is a basic principle of all Churches. The next part of the statement is what begins to set us apart and makes us different. It says “A Church not established solely on the calling and gifts of one person, but corporately on the calling and gifts of all its members.” This is the first mission that defines this Church. We have been established so that all of our gifts can come together for the good of fulfilling the ministry of this Church. This is unique as most Churches are built on the gifts, talents and skills of their Pastor. Everything flows through the Pastor as God’s shepherd over the flock. This is okay up to a point, but the problem that happens is that sometimes the members begin to release their own relationship with Christ and place the pastor in the role of Christ instead. This happens when they get to the point of not studying the Bible on their own and wait to receive from the minister or Bible study teacher what they are supposed to know and do. This happens when a person believes that in order to get a prayer answered they must also have the pastor or one of the other ministerial staff members pray with and/or for them. This happens when the person believes that they do not have a right to hear from God and that everything that God will do through the Church will come through the pastor. As a pastor that is a nice feeling when no one ever questions what you say or do, but that is not what God has called us to be. You are responsible for your own relationship with Christ and that relationship is independent of your relationship with me. I cannot tell you what God wants you to do outside of what He reveals to me as your pastor. But whatever I tell you should already or quickly be confirmed soon after by God to you. But again, this does not happen when a person believes that God only speaks to the Pastor and the relationship they have with God comes through the pastor. What God has called us to do is different from a lot of Churches and believe me when I tell you that it is not going to be easy. Some people will love what we are about and some will want to the traditional relationship. Let’s examine the last part of the mission statement.
“A Church that worships God freely while serving one another in love and unity." This statement defines our relationship with each other. We come together and worship God freely – meaning that your worship experience is determined by you, not dictated by me. It also says that we will serve one another in love and unity. This is the next statement that defines us – that we serve one another. I try my best to model this example. I do not want you to put me on a pedestal but to follow my example of being a servant. I want you to be able to look at the leaders of this Church and see servants. I want you to be able to look at the members of this Church and see servants. From the youngest to the oldest, we should be about serving our Church and our communities. Yesterday afternoon little Dominique knocked on the door to my office. When he came in, he picked up the floor mop and said that he was going to clean my floor and proceeded to do so – without being asked. Yeah I know some of you are wondering what is wrong with him, but whatever it is, it should be the same thing wrong with all of us. He was being a servant yesterday. Being a servant will separate us from a lot of Churches, but more importantly, we will be doing what God has told us to do. When all of us start being servants we will have all of the help we need to get things done around here.
This is the mission statement that we have had for eight years and although we have lived it in practice to some extent, we have not been able to explain it. When we have invited people to come visit our Church the main selling point has not been that we want people to have a personal relationship with Christ; that the gifts of all the members are needed in order for us to fulfill our mission; and that we encourage everyone to serve each other as a part of our ministry to Christ. What has been stated in almost every conversation is that our services start at 9:00 a.m. and are normally over at 10:30 a.m. People like knowing that they will not be in Church all day and so this has been one of the selling points that had been stressed. This is a very weak reason to get someone to come to our Church – even though it might be in fact the only reason they visit initially.
II. Our New Mission Statement
Proverbs 29:18 says “Where there is no vision, no redemptive revelation of God, the people perish…..” If I apply this to our Church today it would sound like this: “Where there is no clear mission; the mission fails.” I do not want to stand before God representing this Church and explain to Him why we failed to accomplish the mission for which this Church was established. From this day forward we will be about accomplishing our mission. In order to do this, I have prayed about how to simplify it so that everyone can easily explain in. This morning I want to share with you what our mission statement says and how we will begin to build our ministries around our mission. Every Sunday morning, we will review what our mission is. As we begin to focus on our ministries, we will evaluate our ministries as they relate to our overall mission. If they do not relate, then we will let them go.
Our new mission statement is as follows: “Empower and Serve”. When you are asked what this mean you can explain this in your own words: “We Empower everyone to have their own personal relationship with Jesus Christ and through that relationship Serve others.” If you are wondering what makes this any different from any other Church it is the word Empower. Empower is defined as “to give power; to authorize.” In many Churches they want you to have a personal relationship with Christ, but it must be as defined by their traditions, guidelines and regulations. Your relationship must be based on their policies and as a member you are expected to follow where you are led. Here, you are expected to have your own personal relationship where you know where Christ is leading you. You see, if you are strong in your personal relationship, you will not fall if I fall, you will be able to lift me up. If I stray, you will not follow me, you will be able to help me get back in line. Your relationship with Christ is not dependent on mine, but yours will be utilized to help strengthen the whole body so that we all share in the growth, strength and ministry of this Church. If your relationship is strong I will not have to lead you per se, you will freely walk side by side with me. And as we get to this point, we will freely serve in our Church and ultimately in our communities. We will begin to walk the walk and have demonstrated evidence of what our mission is. So as of today, I want you to learn our mission statement and begin to put it into practice. Strengthen your personal relationship with God and begin to serve others. When others see you, they will see our mission statement in action and only then will it become a living statement – not just words on a paper.
Empower and Serve. You are Empowered to have your own personal relationship with Jesus Christ and through that relationship serve others.
May God bless and keep you is my prayer.
