Vision for Evangelism and Missions
Our vision for evangelism and missions is be proactive, to indiscriminately preach the gospel to sinners, to trust in a Sovereign God to save those He has chosen, to equip our people to communicate the truths of the gospel, to give our people a vision for personal involvement in missions and to strive to increase our financial commitment to the spread of the gospel around the world for the glory and enjoyment of God.
1. Proactive Involvement
Our vision for evangelism and missions is to be proactive. This means that we under-stand that God has entrusted the gospel of Jesus Christ to the church and that the church is responsible to God to actively seek opportunities to share the gospel and to be a part of God's harvest of sinners in the world. In other words, we understand that we are not simply to wait for people to come to us and ask, What must I do to be saved?, but we are also to go to sinners and proclaim to them their need and the sufficiency of Jesus Christ to meet that need. (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Romans 1:16-17; Acts 1:8)
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
2. Indiscriminate Proclamation
Our vision for evangelism and missions is to indiscriminately preach the gospel to sinners. This means that our responsibility is to share the good news of Jesus Christ with all who have need of him, regardless of our assessment of the condition of their heart at the time. We are to "fish" for those that God is calling to Himself by preaching the gospel at every opportunity that God provides, recognizing that the gospel is a call to "sinners", not "saints." (Luke 5:32; Acts 17:30)
Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. (Acts 17:30-31)
3. Sovereignty of God
Our vision for evangelism and missions is to trust in a Sovereign God to save those He has chosen. We recognize that the only way anyone will ever be saved is if God first changes their heart in regeneration and opens their eyes to the truth and makes them willing to turn from their sin and embrace Jesus Christ by faith as their Lord and Savior. God is the One who saves men and women. We are called to plant and to cultivate, but God is the One who gives faith and brings life and causes growth. Therefore, we need not be motivated by guilt or fear in sharing the gospel, because God is going to save all those Jesus Christ purchased by His blood on the cross. But we are to be motivated by a heart that desires to glorify God and enjoy Him through participating in His work to save men by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is the power of God for salvation and is therefore, the means by which God calls men to Himself. Thus, our commitment to the gospel is our commitment to the glory of God and the good of men. (John 6:65; Acts 2:39; 13:48; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14)
But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. And it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14)
4. Equipping of the Saints
Our vision for evangelism and missions is to equip our people to communicate the truths of the gospel. We understand that it is necessary for the leadership to instruct the body in the truths of the gospel. God saves many people with a very limited understanding of who Jesus is and what He actually accomplished for us on the cross. As a result, believers need to be taught the truths of the gospel so that they are more firmly grounded in those truths and so that they can clearly and accurately share the gospel of Jesus Christ. God has given every believer the responsibility of being witnesses to Jesus Christ, although not every believer has a special gifting for this ministry of evangelism. Those who are gifted in this area can be expected to bear more fruit in this area and may teach and en-courage the rest of the body, in order that the body might grow in its loving testimony to a lost world. (Ephesians 4:11-12; Colossians 2:6-7; 1 Peter 3:15)
But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; (1 Peter 3:15)
5. Launching Pad for Missions
Our vision for evangelism and missions is to give our people a vision for personal involvement in missions. This means that we want our church to be a "launching pad" for missions locally and around the world. We desire to cultivate in our members a burden for the unreached people groups in the world and for the salvation of those who are not yet in the fold of God. We want to give our people, young and old, a vision for laying down their lives for the advancement of God's kingdom in the hearts of men and for the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:17-20; Acts 1:8; Philippians 1:27)
Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; (Philippians 1:27)
6. Financial Support of Missions
Our vision for evangelism and missions is to strive to increase our financial commitment to the spread of the gospel around the world. This means that we desire to give significantly of the resources that God gives us for the support of missionaries and missions activities around the world. We want to be a "channel" or a "funnel" through which God pours the financial resources needed to support His work around the world in calling sinners to Himself through the preaching of the gospel. As a result, we are committed to constantly reviewing our financial stewardship and to seeking ways that we can increase our giving in this area. This includes a commitment to funding local and national and international missions endeavors by our members as well as those who are not members of our body. (3 John 7-8; Philippians 4:15-18; Romans 15:24)
For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support such men, that we may be fellow workers with the truth. (3 John 7-8)
7. Glory and Enjoyment of God
Our vision for evangelism and missions is to be proactive, to indiscriminately preach the gospel to sinners, to trust in a Sovereign God to save those He has chosen, to equip our people to communicate the truths of the gospel, to give our people a vision for personal involvement in missions, and to strive to increase our financial commitment to the spread of the gospel around the world for the glory and enjoyment of God. Our overall mission statement says that we exist to exalt Jesus as our satisfaction through maximizing our joy in God, magnifying the Lord Jesus, ministering to the saints, and making disciples of all nations. Obviously, a strong commitment to evangelism and missions is a crucial part of this mission statement. We believe God has entrusted the gospel to His church and has commissioned us to take His gospel to the ends of the earth, beginning in our own "back-yard" and moving out. It is in our co-laboring with God in His work to save a people for His own possession that we bring Him glory and experience the increase of the satisfaction of our own souls in Him. (Acts 1:8; Habakkuk 2:14; 1 Peter 2:9-10)
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)