The mission of the church is to make disciples of Christ Jesus, who will claim their ministry as agents of God's kingdom.
Rationale of Our Mission:
Jesus' words in Mark 1:14 ("The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news"), announced to the world his gospel mission and ours. Jesus' entire ministry and disciple recruitment was directed to announcing and demonstrating God's kingdom as a present and coming reality; i.e., the reign and realm wherein God's loving will is done on earth as in heaven. Mark's account of Jesus' closing great commission, "Go into all the world and proclaim the good news (of the kingdom) to the whole creation" (Mark 14:15), coupled with Matthew's account of that commission (Matthew 28:19-20), "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, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you," provide the impulse and direction for our mission.
This kingdom mission is an expression of God's larger work in creation. God seeks to restore human beings and all creation to the righteousness ("right relations") that God intends. God's grace is active everywhere, at all times, carrying out this purpose as revealed in the Bible. It is expressed in God's covenant with Abraham and Sarah, in the Exodus of Israel from Egypt, and in the ministry of the prophets. Though greatly misunderstood and diversely interpreted following the Babylonian captivity, that graceful purpose is fully embodied in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus. It is experienced in the ongoing creation of a new people by Christ's Holy Spirit or, as Jesus called himself, "the Spirit of truth" (John 14:17). As the apostle Paul put it: "The Lord is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:17).
Whenever Christian disciples have had a clear sense of God's kingdom mission, God has used the church as the agent of salvation (soteria, i.e., wholeness) to save persons, heal relationships, and change social structures, thereby transforming the world. In order to be fully alive (what Jesus called "eternal life"), we embrace Jesus' mandate to proclaim the good news of the kingdom and make disciples of all peoples.
The Process for Carrying Out Our Mission
We made disciples and kingdom agents as we:
-proclaim the good news of the kingdom, seeking, welcoming, and gathering persons into the Body of Christ, the community of faith;
-lead persons to commit their lives to the God we meet in Christ Jesus and help them to claim their own ministry as agents of God's kingdom;
-nurture and equip persons in Christian living through teaching and understanding the means of grace: worship, baptism, communion, Bible study, and prayer.
-continue the ministry of the kingdom begun by Jesus when he said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4:18-19);
-send persons into the world equipped to live lovingly and justly as disciples by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, caring for the stranger, and freeing the oppressed as signs of Christ's presence in that kingdom where God's will is done.
Faithfulness and effectiveness demand that all ministries of the church, whether by ordained or baptized ministers, be shaped by Christ Jesus' own mission, joining him in making disciples who will proclaim in word and deed the good news of the kingdom.
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
Petition Text: 23072-LC-101-D
1996 United Methodist General Conference