Every community and common mission is unique. The cookie cutter doesn’t exist and there’s no sense in trying. However, the main questions are always the same, even when the answers are numerous. The best place to start with your mission isn’t activity but listening. Listen to the people you are sent to and reflect on how their lives might intersect the gospel and community.
This Saturday we’re hosting a training on living intentionally to introduce the people around us to the person of Jesus. This is a crucial component of what the Church is all about. Most Christians have nagging thoughts that they “should tell people about Jesus” but they don’t know where to start.
The gospel changes everything. It is not only good news for us, but also for our neighbors, the poor, our city, and the world. It affects the social, cultural, and physical fabric of the universe. In Luke 4, Jesus preached the gospel to the poor, marginalized, and oppressed. It is good news for them because through his death and resurrection he has defeated sin, death, and evil (1 Jn. 2:13; 3:8). The gospel announces the in-breaking reign of Jesus, which is in the process of reversing the order of things. The poor become rich, the captives are freed, and the old become new.
God’s mission is to make all things new: to redeem and restore the world. His mission is for all to hear, know, believe, repent, and be raised to abundant life. In God’s grace, he not only comes to save us, but sends us out to participate in this magnificent mission. God sets sin’s captives free and they use that freedom to point others to their rescuer. God welcomes orphans into his family as they to invite others into the family. God brings to life those dying from sin, to proclaim the good news of resurrection. God invites us, through the gospel, into this mission. Jesus commands us to love our neighbors and then sends us to towns, villages, and cities.
