CATGrove is now over 11 months into the adventure of beginning a new church! Over the next few weeks I will reflect on the past year and revisit the MISSION of our community of faith.
What is the mission of our church? First, we must ask, “What is the Church?” The church is not a building, a piece of property, a club, or an address. The church is people who follow Christ! See this POST for further explanation……
There is a cultural expectation that has evolved in America that demands the “unchurched, disconnected, and unconvinced” people to “come to us”. Credibility is given to a “church” when it has property, building and sign out front and there is an often unstated expectations for people to simply “show up”.
When many Christians in our culture hear the word “mission” they picture someone “going” somewhere to share the message of Jesus. Rather than “going” to share Jesus with our friends here in America, we have reduced “mission” to expecting people to come to us on our terms.
The mission of CATGrove is to develop people who follow Jesus and Make Disciples.
We have chosen the main avenue to complete our mission to be initiating conversations with people IN THE COMMUNITY!
I spent much of a summer with a friend preparing to go to central Asia to live in a village where people have never heard about Jesus. He left his life of comfort to go live in a village where he will develop relationships with the purpose of sharing Jesus of the Bible with the people there.
We should look at our neighborhoods, circles of influence, school districts, sports communities, etc as our “villages” where we GO to build relationships and start discussions that lead to the hope found in Jesus.
Here’s deal: Everyone who ends up in a church gathering on Sunday has been invited! To accomplish our mission we must INVEST in friendships and relationships, cultivate TRUST and CREDIBILITY, and then INVITE them to connect with others in our community of faith called Church at the Grove!
Now get out of your chair and walk away from your computer and WALK ACROSS THE STREET to talk with someone!
