MONDAY
Yesterday was a Welcome Sunday so we are pausing our regularly scheduled programming for this week. Welcome Sunday is all about giving those newer to our church an opportunity to get to know a little more about the church and have an opportunity to get to know some folks at LifeBridge on Sunday morning. This week we are looking at our mission statement at LifeBridge Church.
Every church’s mission statement was giving to us by Jesus in the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18–20.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Allow me to highlight a few things in this passage before we move to how we believe LifeBridge is called to carry out this commission from Jesus in Burlington in 2023. First, Jesus is the one who has all of the authority. It’s sourced in him. So as we saw a couple of weeks ago in John 15, we must abide in him. Without him we cannot bear fruit. We cannot do anything apart from him.
Secondly, this commission is not only about getting someone to say a prayer, it is about teaching disciples to obey everything Jesus commanded. Jesus’ commission is to make disciples. This is a life-long process. In our Evangelical Christian culture, we have in large part overemphasized the evangelism (not surprisingly, it’s in the name) and underemphasized the discipleship process of teaching believers to obey everything Jesus commanded. “Obey” and “command” are words often not associated with Jesus, as they make us feel uncomfortable. Yet this is precisely what he calls us to do.
Finally, we are not on this mission alone. Although Jesus has ascended into heaven, he is still with us in the Holy Spirit and he is still doing his work of building his kingdom here on earth. This should come as a great comfort to us.
So it’s not our mission we are pursuing, but Jesus’. It’s not in our power we are accomplishing this mission, but through Jesus. It’s not alone that we are accomplishing this mission, but with Jesus.
With that said, here is our mission statement:
To discover abundant life in Christ and live it together.
We believe that what Jesus calls abundant life is infinitely better than what the world has to offer in this life and for eternity.
Abundant life is found only in Jesus.
John 10:10 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
This doesn’t mean abundance of possessions as the Prosperity Gospel teaches. It means a rich inner life with God. In Christ we find true resurrection life, eternal life. In Christ we find peace with God. In Christ we find forgiveness. In Christ we find love and joy. In Christ we find the presence of God. In Christ we find answers to life’s biggest questions: origin, meaning, morality and destiny.
This life in Christ is meant to be lived together in community—the church.