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Blog Archive
May 26, 2016
The Mission of the Church
Every church has a mission. Ultimately that mission has been determined by the church's designer, God. While the particular landscape of each church may differ in some ways, the mission is the same. The mission of the church is the mission of God. Many have attempted to articulate the church's mission in a variety of ways. It is a necessary exercise in order for us to begin to grasp and comprehend the task before us. The danger, however, is over simplifying God's designed mission for his bride. We must, therefore, seek to articulate this mission in light of the broad scope of God's mission to all people, everywhere, throughout all ages. This means that any mission that is confined to any one people, place, or time is too narrow to be cast as THE mission of the church.
That being stated, how are we to understand the mission of the church? In order to provide an answer, I want to offer a simple yet comprehensive statement of the mission: "to proclaim the word of God for the glory of God to exalt Christ and redeem sinners." This statement is by no means a breakthrough of any sorts. It does, however, provide a simple gauge by which to measure the vision and function of the church. This statement flows from a biblical foundation and serves to summarize God's design for his people in a way that can be grasped. This mission statement articulates a means, motive, reason, and result.
Means:
The Word of God alone is the means which God has ordained to accomplish his mission. It alone stands above every other aspect or activity within the community of God's people. It must saturate and direct all the activity within the community of the faithful. If God's people are to fulfill God's mission, it will be by means of the proclamation of His word.
Motive:
There are many things that may very well motivate us to a variety of tasks within the community of faith. It isn't that there aren't other worthy motivations by which the community is compelled into action. There must be, however, a clear and ultimate motive. We do not exist for ourselves or even "for" our community ultimately. We exist "for God." He alone is to be our treasure and goal. He is the only audience we are to strive to please. Our motivation for ministry must rise above the temporal and mundane to the extreme heights of the glory of God. Greater men than myself have said it this way, the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. The collective out working of that statement remains the same. If that is the chief end of man, then it too will serve as the chief end of the community of faith devised of individual believers.
Reason:
Motivation and reason are almost synonymous. In like manor, the glory of God and the exaltation of Christ are almost synonymous. By God's purposed design, his glory is bound up in the exaltation of Christ. If Christ is not exalted then God is not glorified. It stands to reason that those motivated by the glory of God will make every effort to exalt Christ in word and deed. Any activity that doesn't magnify the person and work of Christ falls short of the glory of God. It is for this reason that Paul said, "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2). The community of faith must be intentional in the efforts to exalt Christ in all things. Any activity that doesn't expressly magnify Christ goes beyond or stands outside the mission of the church. While there is some room for activity within the community of faith that doesn't expressly seek to fulfill the overall mission, it must be promoted as such. The gospel is not served by our attempts to do what we want and pass them off in some way as fulfilling the mission just to make them fit. In addition, we are called to make the most of the time we have. Therefore, we most certainly will need to leave out some things for the sake of the main things.
Result:
While the community of faith exists for God and not expressly for others, others are in view. The goal of mission is worship! God issued his ultimate mission because worship didn't exist. We are commissioned to pursue people for the sake of worship. That is, that they might become worshippers. This will only be the case if they come to experience the redemption that is available for all who repent of sin and follow Christ. It must be clear, however, the redemption of the lost is the result of the mission as we pursue the glory of God.
The mission of the church is to pursue the glory of God above all else. God's glory is revealed in the Words of the revelation He has gifted to us in the Bible. We therefore pursue His glory by means of the proclamation of His Word. Faithful proclamation of God's word will lead to the exaltation of Christ since He is the goal of Scripture. The result of this pursuit will be the redemption of sinners. Therefore, the mission of the church is:
To Proclaim the Word of God for the Glory of God; To Exalt Christ and Redeem Sinners!