Philosophy of Missions
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Our Commitment
Our greatest and ultimate goal in missions is the same as in everything we do: That the glory of God would be exalted and His name would be praised (Rom 9:17; Isa 66:19; 12:4; Rom 1:5; 3 John 7; Acts 15:14; Matt 19:29; Rom 15:9). We share God's desire to see Christ worshiped, honored, and praised among all nations. We believe that the most loving thing we can do for others is to help them to see that their primary reason for existence is to worship God. When people trust Jesus, God is glorified and they are saved, and God's intention for his creation is fulfilled. We also believe that God is most glorified and life is most meaningful, abundant, and fulfilling when we are obeying God in reaching out to others and laying down our lives for them (Ps 63:3; Mark 8:34-35; Rom 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:17). "I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt 16:18) Our Financial Emphasis How we spend the money God entrusts to us at Grace will mean more than what we say. Our values are reflected in the way we spend our money. At Grace Church, we have resolved that a full 12% of our annual budget will be spent on missions, and we are working to move to 25% of our annual budget. $.12 of every dollar given to Grace goes to support our missionaries. Our church must model self-sacrificial giving if we expect individuals in our flock to give in this way. |
Our Confidence
Our confidence in missions comes from God's promises that our missionary efforts are empowered and assured by His power, authority, presence, and sovereignty (Job 42:2; Isa 48:9-11; Matt 16:18; 24:14, 35; 28:19; Rev 5:9). People from every nation will one day bow the knee to Jesus (Rev 5:9). Therefore, our mission will be finished one day. Because of this, we believe that church planting among un-reached people is the greatest need of missions (Rom 15:19-23). Frontier missions that reach people groups that do not yet have access to the gospel are our priority. We believe that the primary battle of missions is spiritual, and therefore prayer is the foundational discipline of our missionary efforts (Matt 6:9-10; Luke 14:33; John 15:16; 2 Thess 3:1; James 4:2-4). Because our mission is a spiritual battle, our lifestyles should reflect a willingness to sacrifice and suffer for the cause of Christ (Mark 10:28-30; Phil 2:29-30, 3:7-11; Col 1:24). Christians must either be missionaries, senders of missionaries, or disobedient. Let us strive to obey. |
