Introduction

·        Church Health Survey – will share some results, feedback, and possible changes, but first, we need to discuss the purpose of the church – our mission.

·        Corporately – what is our purpose? Why are we here? Why do we come to church, sing, tithe, read our Bibles, and listen to a sermon every week? Why does this church exist?

·        Personally - what is your purpose, your goal, your dream, your driving ambition? Why has God put you on this earth? Could you sum it up in one sentence?

·        Men at Work – the baseball pitcher has a nearly impossible task: to throw the ball 60 ft. 6 in., at about 90 miles an hour, into a ‘strike zone’ from waist to knee, over a plate 17” wide, and to do it 100x in a game! The pitcher first has to know his target, and then he has to consistently practice reaching that target.

·        If you want to win the game, you’ve got to hit the ‘strike zone.’ If a pitcher can’t hit his target, he will lose the baseball game. But if you can’t hit the target, your life, and this church, will lose in the game of life, and you will be a spiritual failure with the time and talents God has given you.

·        This is an important message; will lay foundation for life and ministry, and could determine the effectiveness of this church, and whether your own life is pleasing God and if will be declared faithful on the day of judgment.

·        Read Matthew 28:16-20

·        Pray – salvation, our mission

The Great Commission – Mt. 28

·        The setting – vv. 16-17

·        Jesus is about to give His closing charge, His final instructions, Great Commission

·        Authority – power, freedom over nature, disease, demons, forgiveness. He is king and in absolute control.

·        Make disciples – Notice what Jesus does NOT say: eliminate world hunger and poverty, protect civil rights, make everyone happy and feel a sense of self-worth, heal all the sick, grow big churches, hold big services, and build big buildings, start social halls where people can gather, make friends, and have fun, start schools and teach lots of facts about Me, make better marriages and happier families, to promote morality and traditional family values.

·        Many of these are not wrong, but they are so far beneath our actual goal. What could possibly be better than all this? To make disciples. Bret Capranica noted that before we were called “Christians,” we were known as “disciples.” An imperative.

What is a disciple? A student, sinner, and slave.

-         A student of the Greatest Teacher

& Luke 6:40 “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.

-         A sinner rescued by the Greatest Savior

& Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

-         A slave of the Greatest Master

& Luke 14:26-27 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

& Luke 14:33 “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

The heart of a Disciple:

-         Loves God (Mt 22:36-40)

-         Loves people (Jn. 13:35)

Go therefore

- ‘as you go’;

people don’t come to us; we must go to them. Go where? Jerusalem > Judea > Samaria, remotest part of the earth. Global evangelism, but we need to know our culture and go into this community – children, youth, Hispanic population. We must meet people where they are, and make our church a place where they feel welcome.

·        The glory of God – Yes, but this is accomplished by fulfilling the Great Commission. Jn. 12:28; Eph. 3:21

Ephesians 3:21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

How do we do this?

‘Baptizing’ corresponds with ‘Evangelism.’ ‘Teaching’ corresponds with ongoing growth and ‘Edification.’ We will look further at this process next week.

Our Mission statement

·        Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ who love God and love people, by reaching and teaching everyone

·        Every entity has a mission. Mission of a carpenter is to take wood and build houses or some other structure; the mission of a bakery is to make bread and other baked goods; mission of the police is to protect citizens and enforce the law.

·        We are not required to be experts in everything. No one condemns a baker because he can’t read a blueprint, operate a saw, or build a frame. That’s not his job. Likewise, the church is not here to provide entertainment, or to feed the world. That’s not our job.

·        Everything fits somehow into that mission. Every person, every activity, every piece of equipment, etc. fits into the mission. The baker has to buy supplies, store them, mix them, bake them, and sell them. They might offer coffee or juice. But no one condemns a baker because they don’t wash people’s laundry, or prepare people’s taxes, or repair their cars. Likewise, everything that the church does should fit into our purpose.

Concluding Applications

·        Know your mission – What is your goal, dream, ambition? To be a disciple and make disciples.

·        Why do you attend church? Give? Serve? In SS? In nursery? Cleaning and groundskeeping? Women’s Fellowship or Men’s Bible Study?

·        Support the mission of this church – Pray. Get Involved. Support change. One of the fastest ways to ‘kill’ a church and undermine the mission: Do things because ‘we’ve always done it that way’ (I, this church, SBC, etc.); avoid anything new because ‘we’ve never done it that way.’ Our standard is the Word of God. There is great freedom in anything beyond that.

·        Prayer of commitment