To be immersed in beauty is a sweet drowning.
S. Knox White
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
A Vision Statement for Ministry at Covenant EPC
Vision Statement: To evangelize, disciple, and integrate into Covenant the young adults whom God sends our way.
To Evangelize: In word, deed, and life, whether by means of conversation, teaching and preaching, prayer, service, attitude, ethic, writing, or any other godly means which God blesses, to proclaim, manifest, explain, defend, persuade towards, and apply both individually and corporately, to both believer and unbeliever, the power, truth, glory, beauty, desirability, other-worldliness, offense, healing, reconciliation, new life, restoration, redemption, blessings, curses, warnings, exhortation, encouragement, mystery, profoundity, and reliability of the gospel. Although evangelism logically preceeds discipleship and integration into church life, it also permeates, epitomizes, grounds, and guides all of ministry, as it is the power of God unto salvation (which encompasses deliverance not only from the penalty of sin, but also the power and presence of sin, from which we have full rescue only in the life to come), driving the entire Christian life, accomplishing not only justification, but sanctification and glorification as well.
To disciple: to lead towards, promote, inculcate, instruct in, exemplify, encourage, nurture, pray for, counsel, and solemnly warn and defend against the lack of holistic Christian growth in life, maturity, wisdom, faith, good works, godliness, faithfulness, fruitfulness, holiness, and righteousness. To disciple, in other words, means for one believer to lead another in sanctification. The heart, power, and glory of discipleship is growth in the gospel of grace, in which we more fully and deeply become what God has already declared us to be in Christ. Sanctification can only be built on the foundation of justification. As in all of the Christian life, the believer proceeds in discipleship by grace through faith, not by works, lest any man should boast. At the same time, this faith must be a living faith, the test of which is works. The mature disciple must be able both the examine himself to see whether he is in the faith, to test the genuineness of his faith and to ascertain whether he is a fruitful branch or an unregenerate, while simultaneously being deeply rooted and assured in the gospel, knowing and trusting that beilievers are justified, accepted, adopted and loved only for the sake of Christ whom they have only by grace through the free gift of faith, not by works, lest any man should boast.
To integrate: to incorporate into the life of Covenant those Christian disciples who do not already have a healthy church home, in order that they might more fully fulfill their duties as disciples and that they might enjoy and contribute to the blessings of our corporate covenant life.
To Evangelize: In word, deed, and life, whether by means of conversation, teaching and preaching, prayer, service, attitude, ethic, writing, or any other godly means which God blesses, to proclaim, manifest, explain, defend, persuade towards, and apply both individually and corporately, to both believer and unbeliever, the power, truth, glory, beauty, desirability, other-worldliness, offense, healing, reconciliation, new life, restoration, redemption, blessings, curses, warnings, exhortation, encouragement, mystery, profoundity, and reliability of the gospel. Although evangelism logically preceeds discipleship and integration into church life, it also permeates, epitomizes, grounds, and guides all of ministry, as it is the power of God unto salvation (which encompasses deliverance not only from the penalty of sin, but also the power and presence of sin, from which we have full rescue only in the life to come), driving the entire Christian life, accomplishing not only justification, but sanctification and glorification as well.
To disciple: to lead towards, promote, inculcate, instruct in, exemplify, encourage, nurture, pray for, counsel, and solemnly warn and defend against the lack of holistic Christian growth in life, maturity, wisdom, faith, good works, godliness, faithfulness, fruitfulness, holiness, and righteousness. To disciple, in other words, means for one believer to lead another in sanctification. The heart, power, and glory of discipleship is growth in the gospel of grace, in which we more fully and deeply become what God has already declared us to be in Christ. Sanctification can only be built on the foundation of justification. As in all of the Christian life, the believer proceeds in discipleship by grace through faith, not by works, lest any man should boast. At the same time, this faith must be a living faith, the test of which is works. The mature disciple must be able both the examine himself to see whether he is in the faith, to test the genuineness of his faith and to ascertain whether he is a fruitful branch or an unregenerate, while simultaneously being deeply rooted and assured in the gospel, knowing and trusting that beilievers are justified, accepted, adopted and loved only for the sake of Christ whom they have only by grace through the free gift of faith, not by works, lest any man should boast.
To integrate: to incorporate into the life of Covenant those Christian disciples who do not already have a healthy church home, in order that they might more fully fulfill their duties as disciples and that they might enjoy and contribute to the blessings of our corporate covenant life.
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