Mission Team
The terms “missions” and “missionary” can conjure up images of heroic acts of witnesses set in remote, difficult locations. These images are not only intimidating, but also can cause us to overlook the true biblical concept of “mission” on which we should be focused. At its core, this mission is the goal that Christ gave his church to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…and teaching them to obey everything [he] commanded.”This mission is not something limited to a few individuals who travel some requisite distance from their homes. It is for the church as a whole, in every area of life. The same mission that empowers one family to move to Indonesia to start a church also drives another to reach out to its neighbors in Charlottesville. God builds the same kingdom through the businessman sharing the love of Christ with his coworker and the pastor ministering to a group of house churches in China.
Mission unites the church in much the same way a team of disciplined athletes joins in pursuit of a championship title or a group of soldiers finds a bond in their common objective. In the words of Christ: “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one… May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
This is truly exciting! Through the mission given us by Christ, we experience a growing taste of God’s kingdom through greater awareness of his love for us, unity with other believers, and the great privilege of seeing lives changed through the power of the gospel. Our understanding and pursuit of mission directly touches our relationships with God, the church, and the world.
The goal of the Evergreen mission team is to serve the body in these ways:
•Pray for God’s revelation of the mission he has for us in all spheres: church, family, vocational, community, cross-cultural
•Identify and coordinate resources that equip and train the body for missional living
•Pursue unity through connection and celebration of the specific ways God is accomplishing his mission through Evergreen and the church at large
