"Making more and
better followers of Jesus Christ
as we encounter him together"
This sums up what we're
all about at Encounter, and it captures
the heart of the mission of BranchCreek
Community Church, of which we are a
ministry. Ultimately, however, this
mission is not something we came up
with, but belongs to Jesus himself,
who, toward the end of his days on the
earth, said:
"All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given
to me. Therefore go and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching
them to obey everything I have commanded
you. And surely I am with you always,
to the very end of the age" (Matthew
28:18-20, NIV).
Jesus was speaking to
those who had already become his committed
disciples or followers, and what he basically
said to them is this: "Now go and make
of others what I have made of you. Make
more followers of me (baptizing them)
and better followers of me (teaching them)."
Two thousand years later, we're seeking
to do our part to keep this ball rolling.
What does this involve? The following
statements represent our primary commitments
as we carry out our mission. Each statement
is illustrated by a couple of stories
from the Bible. We encourage you to check
these out for yourself (and if you don't
have access to a Bible, simply go to www.biblegateway.com
and type in the reference as given below,
using the NIV version that will already
be selected for you).
Celebrating Jesus Christ
We believe that passion for the Lord should
permeate everything we do, for we are,
first and foremost, a community of worshipers
(see Mark 12:28-34 and Acts 2:42-47).
Leading with integrity
We believe that our leaders must be "full
of the Spirit and wisdom" if we are to
be effective in fulfilling our mission
together (see Acts 6:1-7 and 20:13-38).
Listening with care
We believe that making more and better
followers of Jesus Christ requires both
biblical faithfulness and cultural relevance
(see Acts 17:16-34 and 1 Corinthians 9:19-23).
Reaching the unchurched
We believe that all people matter to God,
and so we do everything we can to reach
others with the good news about Jesus
Christ (see Luke 15:1-32 and 19:1-10).
Renewing our minds
We believe that people are transformed
by understanding and applying Scripture,
and so we encourage and provide for biblical
learning (see Acts 10:1-48 and 1 Timothy
3:14-4:5).
Connecting with others
We believe that people can only grow in
the context of loving relationships, and
so we urge everyone to be active in a
smaller group (see Acts 4:32-35 and Hebrews
10:19-25).
Equipping for service
We believe that every follower of Jesus
is gifted to serve others in love, and
so we encourage and train people for compassionate
service (see John 13:1-17 and Ephesians
4:1-16).
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