Our Mission

 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” 

In brief: Christ instructed leaders in the church to prioritize servant-hood and education to the end that believers would be united and unwavering in the truth.

 Apostles: those chosen, trained, and sent specifically by Jesus

Prophets: those graced with speaking the message revealed to them by the Holy Spirit

Evangelists: those who teach and preach the gospel, the word of truth, to the church and to the lost

Pastors: those who shepherd and oversee souls in a congregation of the Lord’s Church

Teachers: those who explain the Word of God, giving the interpretation and application

 Equipping: the idea here is one of discipline and training so that a person is prepared, capable, ready, qualified, and complete.

1. For the work of service

The word service is translated from the word for ministry. A minister is a servant, and ministry is service. The church was given the gifts of those who would model and teach, showing the way forward in Christianity…. service. Jesus was a servant leader and those who lead in the church must also be servant leaders who encourage and directly teach that the essential nature of Christianity is the work of putting others first. In Christianity, we must have leaders and make leaders who understand the necessity of work, of service, of humility, and helping others. Paul leaves the “work of service” generic, and so we may make applications to worship, as well as to serving one another, and our communities. Make no mistake, Christ gave gifts to the church in order that ministry…..service to and for people, would be prioritized. 

2. To the building up of the body of Christ

Through the teaching and preaching of the Word, people are built up. The Bible speaks of Jesus Christ as the cornerstone of Christianity’s foundation. Sometimes, the image in Scripture is that Jesus is the entire foundation. The apostles built the church atop the foundation of Jesus. The church is continually built up on that foundation. Individual Christians are part of the spiritual building which is being constructed. You can easily see how each individual member of the building has a purpose, fits into the overall function of the building, and is a necessary part. Jesus expects that all Christians are built up. There must be a spiritual development and strengthening process that takes place, or else the crumbling and destruction of the building may occur as warned in vs 14 of Ephesians 4. Christians need to be taught and encouraged, corrected or rebuked for the purpose of creating and maintaining the unity of the faith. True unity and correct knowledge were so vital to Jesus that he gave the gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to ensure that Christians would be taught the truth and have unity. Clearly from verse 14, one consequence of the church failing to equip is that Christians would be hindered or derailed by false teachers and the evil influences of the world. 

 “...equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”

Our mission is to train our people for the work of service and to build them up spiritually so that we have unity based on the word of God and security in the true knowledge of Christ. This will produce a mature community that resembles our God and Savior Jesus Christ. This will create a community of Salt and Light.