Selah - April 2009 - We Are a Missional People

It is hard to believe this is the last of three Selah’s explaining our Core Values for the Church of the Nazarene. If you are just joining us on this journey you will find the previous Core Values recorded in the February and March Selah’s. Please take a moment to go back through those in order to get clear picture of the people we call Nazarenes.

For those who have journeyed with me so far I hope you have found the journey enlightening and helpful. In this last Core Value you will discover that three distinct areas are covered.

All aboard!
Pastor Charlie 

WE ARE A MISSIONAL PEOPLE

As Christian holiness people, we embrace the mission of God in the world. Through God’s grace, responding to Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, our Christian mission calls us to 1) worship, 2) witness, and 3) discipleship as we extend God’s mission to our world.

Our mission of Worship 

We exist to bring glory to God.

The mission of the church begins in the adoration of God and the confession of Jesus Christ as Lord who redeems us in grace and mercy.

As the Body of Christ, we gather before God, we hear the Word proclaimed, we participate in the sacraments, and we respond in gratitude, obedience, and service. Through this divine encounter, the Holy Spirit continually transforms us into the likeness of Christ so that we may reflect the glory of God to the world.

Our mission of Witness – Evangelism, Compassion, and Justice

Embracing the mission of God in the world, we proclaim in word and deed the gospel of Jesus Christ. As people who are consecrated to God, we share God’s love for the lost and compassion for the poor and broken. The Great Commandment and the Great Commission move us to engage the world in evangelism, compassion, and justice. To this end, we are committed to inviting people to faith in Christ, to caring for those in need, to standing against injustice and with the oppressed, to working to protect and preserve the resources of God’s creation, and to welcoming into our fellowship all who seek the Lord.

Our mission of Discipleship

To be Christian is to be a disciple, a follower of Jesus in everyday life. We are committed to becoming and making disciples who express their obedience to Jesus Christ in their everyday life and in the life of the local church.

It is God’s desire for all disciples to grow in Christlikeness. Therefore, we are committed to providing the means through which Christian disciples might grow together into communities marked by obedience to God and faithful witness.

Our commitment to Christian maturity leads us to nurture Christian disciples and to teach them to love God with their whole heart, soul, and mind and their neighbor as themselves. Through our seminaries and Bibles colleges, universities and colleges, schools and ministry training centers, as well as publishing endeavors, we aim to develop and shape servant leaders who will serve Christ through the church and in the world.

SELAH: pause and think on this!

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Updated: October 10, 2009