Our Mission is to:

INVITE people into a relationship with God. . .

The INVITE portion of our Mission is a response to Jesus' Great Commission in Matthew 28:19: "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. . ." When Jesus first launched his ministry he began by proclaiming the Good News to those who were without hope. From the beginning of Christianity, evangelism has been at the heart of God's calling for his people.

Somehow, many churches today have lost sight of this central calling and have slipped into an inward focus rather than an outward focus. Too often our churches have developed a "Country Club" mentality rather than a "Mission Outpost" mentality. In a Country Club, the institution exists exclusively for the benefit of its members and the concerns of outsiders carry no weight. The defining question is "What is good for us?" By contrast the Mission Outpost exists solely for the fulfillment of the mission. Personal preference and whims do not define its character, rather concern for the context, culture, and needs of those outside the institution guide the methods and efforts of those inside the institution. The defining question is "How can we more effectively reach those who need the Gospel?"

The INVITE portion of our Mission statement reminds us of this crucial outward focus. It moves us beyond a focus on our own preferences and needs to focus on how we can be more effective in reaching that growing segment of our population that is outside the Church and for whom the Gospel is like a foreign language. Part of fulfilling this aspect of our Mission is to discover how we can translate the language of the Gospel into forms of ministry that are relevant in our rapidly changing culture.

In a culture where institutions are suspect and a majority of people are unfamiliar with the Church, personal invitation is the crucial vehicle by which we can carry out this aspect of our Mission. By building authentic relationships with unchurched people, we will have the opportunity to share our faith and invite them to join us in a worship experience that is comfortable, meaningful, and life-changing. We will need to become a more inviting community if we are to effectively fulfill this aspect of our Mission.