Mission 217
The mission of Delta Church defines what we’re doing today as a church. Our vision gives us a picture of our preferred future, and our mission tells us what to do today as we strive to fulfill our vision.
Our mission as to begin with Jesus’ mission, for Jesus is the Senior Pastor of Delta Church, and we listen to, obey, and imitate Him. The key passage that defines Jesus’ mission is found in Mark 2:13-17:
He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.
And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."
We find in this passage that Jesus was active communicating the Gospel. As Jesus came to Levi (commonly known as Matthew), he invited Levi to follow him. The next picture of the story is phenomenal. Verse 15 says “…as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus…”. Jesus was engaged with these “sinners”! There is a subtle, yet important, principle here. Too often evangelism is thought of in term of “reaching out”. The problem with this word picture is that it immediately communicates that the sinners of the world are being kept at arm’s length from the Church. What Jesus does is to engage the lost. He goes to where they are at, involves himself in their world and activities. With this as our backdrop, the mission of Delta Church will reflect this engaging form of living out the Gospel by:
Being on this mission for Jesus is the highest and greatest calling we could ever hope for. We need to constantly be engaging the Matthew’s in our lives out of love for God, in hopes of seeing their lives transformed and our world changed one person at a time.
Our mission as to begin with Jesus’ mission, for Jesus is the Senior Pastor of Delta Church, and we listen to, obey, and imitate Him. The key passage that defines Jesus’ mission is found in Mark 2:13-17:
He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.
And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."
We find in this passage that Jesus was active communicating the Gospel. As Jesus came to Levi (commonly known as Matthew), he invited Levi to follow him. The next picture of the story is phenomenal. Verse 15 says “…as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus…”. Jesus was engaged with these “sinners”! There is a subtle, yet important, principle here. Too often evangelism is thought of in term of “reaching out”. The problem with this word picture is that it immediately communicates that the sinners of the world are being kept at arm’s length from the Church. What Jesus does is to engage the lost. He goes to where they are at, involves himself in their world and activities. With this as our backdrop, the mission of Delta Church will reflect this engaging form of living out the Gospel by:
Loving God…
In view of God’s mercy, we are to live totally surrendered lives to Jesus (Romans 12:1). This surrender of our will, our actions, our attitudes, and our desires will result in obedience to the Father (John 15:9-10). So ‘loving God’ is much more than warm, fuzzy feelings during a worship song; it’s about dying to ourselves and being obedient to His Word.Transforming lives…
When you meet Jesus, you change. You are no longer the person you’ve been all your life; you are a totally new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). This transformation happens on three levels: 1) God does heart surgery on you by removing a hard, sinful heart and replaces it with a heart that’s soft, holy heart that loves Him (Ezekiel 36:25-27). This is called Regeneration. 2) God begins to reprogram your mind, replacing all of the sinful thoughts and ideas and ways of living that we have adopted with the things that are pure, noble, holy, and right – things that are of him (Romans 12:2). This is called Sanctification. And finally, 3) God promises to bring you to heaven to live with him forever in a new body (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). This is called Glorification. What all this basically means is that “being saved” is a process…a process that includes what God has done for you, is doing in you, and will do with you.Changing the world…
God has called us to Him and has sent us to tell others about him (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). In doing this, we have the opportunity as we impact the people in our circles of influence, they can in turn do the same, and we can turn a godless culture into a God-centered culture through the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 6:10).Being on this mission for Jesus is the highest and greatest calling we could ever hope for. We need to constantly be engaging the Matthew’s in our lives out of love for God, in hopes of seeing their lives transformed and our world changed one person at a time.
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