"When people say they don't 'feel close to Jesus,' i ask them if they are making disciples. After all his promise to be with us is directly tied to his command to make disciples. while every christian wants to experience the power of the holy spirit, we often forget that the spirit's power is given for the purpose of being his witnesses. Experiencing God, which is the longing of every true believer, happens when we are being his witnesses and making disciples."
~~ Francis Chan ~~
The Priority of Missions
We desire to know, love, worship, enjoy, and live with and for the Lord. We (individually and corporately) were created by God to live for his glory. We believe we do this best by keeping the Gospel ever-before our eyes, connecting every gathering and ministry to the "good news" of salvation that Christ has accomplished for His people by his life, death, and resurrection. We take seriously His command to proclaim the Gospel and make disciples of all nations. As a church we strive to make fully devoted disciples of Jesus who believe the Gospel, belong to God, and are becoming like Jesus. We do this by living out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), starting right here in Tyler.
The Process of Missions
When the Lord commanded His disciples to "make disciples," He meant it. We have been drawn to Christ by the Gospel, so now we draw others to Christ with the Gospel. Our lead pastor likes to say, "from the world to the cross, from the cross to the world." Disciples of Christ are called to make more disciples of Christ. We make disciples by GOING, by BAPTIZING and by TEACHING. Jesus 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). This authoritative commission is our all-consuming ambition.
The Places of Missions
In Acts 1:8, Jesus says to His followers, "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." In some ways this verse represents the outline of the book of Acts, as the Gospel goes from where they are (Jerusalem), to the surrounding region (Judea and Samaria), and ultimately to the center of the empire (end of the earth). This pattern of mission work starting where one is and expanding in its reach from there is something we try to mimic in our mission work. We want to be a blessing to our community, we want to go wherever God gives us opportunity to go, and we strive to have a good balance of opportunities in each region as the Lord leads.