Knowing our Mission is Critical
Dear LTCC Family,
Christmas shopping can be overwhelming. When Justine says to me, “Can you pick up a gift for __________?” I’m not even sure where to start. I find myself wandering aimlessly, whether online or through the stores. Where am I going again? What am I getting?
Knowing our mission as God’s people, the Church, is critical. Without it, we can lose focus and find ourselves wandering aimlessly. Each Sunday at the end of our worship together at LTCC we close with the phrase, “You are sent.” Sent where? For what? We must be clear on our mission.
Thankfully, God is a God of mission.
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:17
The mission: Save the world. God the Father sends God the Son to accomplish the mission. This is our celebration at Christmas. God the Son arrives as a baby, entering human history on a mission to live without sin, to die as a substitute in the place of sinners, and to rise from death to give eternal life to those who trust him as their Savior. May we celebrate this good news (gospel) with great joy this weekend!
The word “send” in the Greek is apostello, which means to “send out” as on a mission. It’s where we get our English word “apostle.” In a sense, when Justine sends me to get a gift, I’m on a mission as her apostle. In a much (much) greater sense, Jesus includes us as apostles in his mission. After resurrecting from death, Jesus said this to his disciples in John 20:21:
“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
Jesus sends (apostello) the disciples on mission to join him in his saving work. So that they do not wander aimlessly, Jesus further clarifies the mission before he ascends to the Father:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20
We know this as the Great Co-Mission. Jesus’s mission to reach the world is for disciples (“learners” or followers) to make more disciples. As we are “sent” (apostello) each Sunday, our mission is to go make more disciples of Jesus, teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded, even leading them to profess their faith through baptism.
As you know, we have been working on revising our mission statement at LTCC so that we are clear about everything we are doing as a church body. The Transition Team has recommended a number of mission statements, 10 words or less, to the Council (deacons and elders), and you have submitted your own ideas and feedback. With that input, the Council is proposing the following new mission/purpose statement for LTCC:
Loving God by helping people follow Jesus
These 7 words capture a lot and focus us on God’s mission as his sent ones. In the Great Commission, Jesus says we are to be “teaching them to observe all” that he has commanded. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, he responded (Matthew 22:36-40):
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
We are thankful for the summary Jesus gives of all 613 OT commandments! Love God and love neighbor. Our mission statement captures both the Great Commandment and the Great Commission in a succinct and memorable way. Making followers of Jesus is discipleship, and when someone follows Jesus, he says they will become “fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). Discipleship results in evangelism. We are excited about our mission!
As a church body at LTCC, we come together, each with differing gifts from the Spirit, to accomplish the mission as sent ones. Everything we do as a church will be targeted because we know the mission, each of us with a role to play. Our dollars spent (budget) will put feet to the mission. Continue praying for the work of the Council to present a budget at the end of January that reflects our desire to love God by helping people to follow Jesus.
May we celebrate that God did not aimlessly wander to earth not knowing what to do or look for, but very purposely came to be our only Savior! Merry Christmas!
For the deacons and elders,
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See? View our Announcements webpage.
Touch? Grab a monthly paper bulletin from an usher.
Hear? Listen to the announcements at the beginning of Sunday service.
Who is this week's Missionary Spotlight? Joel & Becky Matuszczak
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