“As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” - John 17:18
The church exists to fulfill the mission of the Christ. As he was sent into the world, so we are sent. What does this mean? It means we are sent to rescue the lost. First and foremost we want to show people Jesus and see them come to love him. We are sent to make disciples. Jesus command modeled his method. He did not say go make converts to a religious system, rather go make disciples. We call people to come see Jesus, then to follow and remain in him. Making disciples is the means of fulfilling the mission. Call people to trust Jesus person and work, to obey his teachings, to be baptized and join his church on mission. It’s in him we find life and on mission that we find our meaning in life. We were made to worship God and witness of the gospel flows from hearts worshipping Jesus.
Being on mission will also require being in the world. We can’t hide in our Christian ghettos. Do we really need another Christian version of anything (Christian gas station, car lot or hair salon) or do we simply need Christians living and working in the city, for the good of the city. The church is called to gather, but we are also commanded to scatter, to fan out into dark places bringing the light of the gospel to bear. Think of everyday, everywhere and everyone as an opportunity to worship Jesus. Who came for you, saves you for himself and sends you for his glory and your good.
Lastly we are sent in community. God the Father sent God the Son who sent God the Spirit. Jesus prayed we would be like them, working together for God’s glory in harmony and in community. Discipleship and mission is a community project. Don’t think invitations and events, think community and involvement. Christian is a verb more than it’s a noun.
