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What is the Mission?

Church, Church at the Grove, Church Planting, Missional, READ THIS! 1 Response »

Aug 202007

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!

How will they know?

Community, Missional, READ THIS! No Responses »

Mar 312007

This morning (Saturday March 31) began great!Â I was able to sleep all night and past 7am!Â While still in bed my two wonderful oldest children came and climbed in bed with me.Â It was one of those special moments that all parents look forward to experiencing.Â Then it happened…….!

Satan entered the room!Â One child spoke to the other, “You’re mean!”Â the other responded, “Why don’t you shut your mouth!”.Â I turned to gently speak to them (yeah, right!) and before I could say anything, my wife from the next room spoke, “Before they are able to play with their friends in the neighborhood, they must first treat one another with love and respect!”Â You go girl!Â That was great advice!

I then got up to began cooking breakfast for our family and the new neighbors next door.Â YES, I said ‘I’ began to cook!Â While I was cooking I began to think about what my wife said regarding our children’s behavior toward each other.Â She stated, “Before you can play with your friends in the neighborhood you must first treat one another with love and respect.”Â I could not help but think of what Jesus said to His disciples:

John 13:34-35 (NIV)
³⁴“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
³⁵By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

As this revelation unfolded in my mind, I immediately called my 9 year old son and my 5 year old daughter to my side and I began to explain that God has called us to live a “missional” example to the people in this neighborhood and we must love each other as an example of Jesus’ sacrificial love toward everyone in the neighborhood.Â My 5 year old responded, “Are the pancakes ready yet?”Â I don’t think she got it.

But I did!Â Often the church loses its voice to those outside the church simply because it hasn’t learned to exhibit and demonstrate God’s love within the confines of the CHURCH, much less outside the church.Â The people outside the church (the unchurched, dechurched, non-Christian, pre-Christian) simply can’t buy into a message that the messengers themselves do not live by within their own family.Â

My wife and I (and hopefully our children) see our 105 home neighborhood as our personal mission field.Â We probably won’t be successful in sharing the love of Christ with our neighbors if we are at each other’s throats all the time.Â (Hopefully when we have ‘intense fellowship’, we can do so in a manner that it will not be on display for the neighborhood to see.)Â DON’T YOU SEE IT?Â If we can show an “unusual” love for one another, people will take notice.Â As they take notice of our “unusual” love and care for one another, then they will not only take notice, but listen to THAT which has provided for our “unusual” love and care for one another.

That is the way it should work with the BODY OF CHRIST, the Church.Â As we show and demonstrate unity and “unusual” care and love for one another it will make our MESSAGE BELIEVABLE.

Take some time and read what Jesus said in the gospel of John chapter 13 and 17!Â

May we show and demonstrate an “unusual” love and care for one another in such a way that people will LISTEN to what we have to say about Jesus’ “unusual” love and care for them!