My Mission

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  

What does God want from you? The Scripture says he has a plan for your life, a plan for good, to give you a future. So, what do you do? Your church has ministries designed to serve the needs of people, members or not. Is there a ministry that meets your plan?    

Pastor James W. Moore writes about his time at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church. They decided to write a one-sentence mission statement for their church. They worked hard at that. How do we describe who we are as a church in one sentence? Well, after a lot of prayer and discussion and conversation, here’s what they came up with: “St. Luke’s is a Christ-centered servant church where every member has a ministry.”  

Pastor Moore says, “I love that because it reminded us that we are centered in Christ and that we are his servants as we try our best to continue his ministry of preaching, teaching, caring, helping, healing, and giving ourselves sacrificially.” 

They have an awesome mission statement. It grounds them in the life of their church and their dedication to Christ. It brings to mind our mission statement: “Following Jesus, we love God and neighbor.” It grounds us in the life we live of following his commandment of love. We have an awesome mission statement.

This is not a competition nor a grading of missionals, any more than we would compare the dedication to Christ of one person versus another—including ourselves. It may be indicative of the emphasis a church has for the overall mission of its members and it might cause one to think about different aspects of their own church.  

For instance, do we encourage every member to be aware of our particular ministries and to claim one or more as their intended involvement? Are we concerned enough to help every member acknowledge the call to be a servant of Christ? For then, each heart can find that special place where God can use them. Remember, it’s not so much their ability to do something, as their availability –God will take it from there.

Things and opportunities are beginning to open up. Have you figured out yet just where God can use you in the church?

Friends, let us be servants together.