I'm reading Greg Gilbert's and Kevin DeYoung's book, What is the Mission of the Church? Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission.
In part I'm reading it because I know Greg. He has a first-class mind, a love for Christ, and desire to see the Scriptures clearly explained. I'm also reading the book because, as a pastor, it can be easy to lose sight of the what the church is about. There are so many projects that vie for a church's time, finances, and attention. Most of them are good, even wonderful. So how does a church focus on the main thing?
Early on in the book, they set out this mission for the church:
The mission of the church is to go into the world and make disciples by declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit and gathering these disciples into churches, that they might worship the Lord and obey his commands now and in eternity to the glory of God the Father.
I don't want to lose a heart for or a commitment to this mission. It is a glorious mission. Our lives and our churches are to be devoted to making disciples. We do this by declaring the gospel. But we can't do it alone, we need the Spirit. He will gather the disciples together into our churches and lead them to worship and obey. And through it all, God will be glorified.
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