Our Mission is to:

SERVE others by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Not only did Jesus leave us with his Great Commission, but also in Matthew 22:34-40, he gave us the Great Commandment. When Jesus was asked what was the most important of all God's commandments, he answered, "'You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' And a second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

The first commandment relates to the first two parts of our Mission statement: it is God's love for us that brings us into a relationship with him initially and then our resulting love for God that fuels the process of discipleship. However, it is this second commandment that moves us into the third aspect of our Mission: "Love your neighbor as yourself." As we learn to love those around us we discover inside of us a natural desire to use our gifts to serve others.

The crucial importance of this third part of our Mission is underlined by Jesus' own example. Jesus not only proclaimed the Good News and challenged people into a life of discipleship, but wherever he saw hurting people or people in need, he couldn't help but respond by serving them in love. Jesus explicitly told his disciples when he washed their feet that if they were to be his followers they would follow his example of being a servant (John 13:14). We cannot claim to be fulfilling the Mission of Jesus if we are not focused on serving others in love.

Notice how this third part of our Mission flows out of the second and back into the first: as we grow spiritually we begin to discover that God has given us unique gifts that are crucial to the fulfillment of his purpose. There begins to grow inside of us a natural desire to respond to God's love by serving him and others with our gifts. Likewise, as we begin to serve those outside the community of faith there is a natural opportunity to invite new people into a relationship with God.

This is not a serving that grows out of guilt or obligation nor is it one that looks for reward or recognition. Rather it is a natural response to God's grace which is motivated by gratitude, characterized by love, and results in profound fulfillment. There is no greater satisfaction in life than using your God-given gifts to serve others in a response to the grace of God. If we are to fulfill this aspect of our Mission we will find more effective ways to help people identify their gifts and begin to use those gifts in serving others.