Our mission is to be and make growing followers of Jesus Christ. What is a growing follower of Jesus? We define it with four G’s: a person who has received God’s GRACE, who is GROWING in their faith, who GIVES of themselves to God’s design and who GOES to share the gospel with the world.
The first step in becoming a growing follower of Jesus is to experience God’s grace. Grace is the unearned favor of God on your life. It starts with honesty on our part and a willingness to have God open our eyes to the truth about the person we are right now. That’s the place where we find God’s forgiveness. But He doesn’t stop there. God continues to pour out His amazing grace on our lives every minute of every day. To prepare, read Romans 5 and Ephesians 2:1-10.
The second step in becoming a growing follower of Jesus is found in the statement itself. While God loves us right where we are, He doesn’t want to leave us there. We can feel like complete failures in life, but God is ready to show us the way to wholeness, peace and a sense of real purpose. How do I increase in my understanding of God? How can my life get better as a result? How does God take me to the “next level” in my family, my work and my relationships? To prepare, read Luke 8:1-15.
A growing follower of Jesus is progressing in more ways than just their head knowledge of God. What is learned is ultimately put into practice. Like an athlete who strengthens and improves the body by using it often, so the follower of Jesus grows in passion and progress by generously giving. But giving is more than just a financial offering. Giving means serving with all the resources God has entrusted to you. Your time has value. Your abilities have value. And yes, your money has value. In all of these, the growing follower of Jesus gives generously.
Once a person has experienced the grace of God, grows in their understanding of God and gives to God generously from their resources, what’s next? According to Jesus, it means engaging in His mission for growing followers. What mission? Make more growing followers of Jesus by introducing them to His grace. If we have truly experienced an amazing new life in Christ, we’ll want to pass on that knowledge and experience to others.
