What it Means to Belong to a Church, Part 5, On Mission Together

This weekend marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This anniversary reminds us of many things- like where we were when the first plane struck the north tower and the emotions we felt as our country was attacked. As our nation remembers, I hope we experience healing and keep motivated to keep our nation safe. However, I also hope that remembering 9/11 will remind us about our mission as a church. 

Our mission is to lead people to become whole-hearted followers of Jesus Christ. This means that we work to give people around the world the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel and we teach them to live for Jesus. The Bible teaches that the gospel is the only way to remove sin and evil from the hearts of people.

When we witness atrocities like 9/11, the OKC bombing, and the Columbine High School shooting, we see the evil of humanity at its worst. It can steal, kill, and destroy in terrifying ways. These events confront us with the uncomfortable fact that the human race is fallen and depraved. 

The Bible says that evil lives in each of our hearts even though most of us express it in far less dramatic ways. Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick- who can understand it." Hence, given that the gospel is the world's only hope, our mission as a church is to spread it far and wide. 

As we've discussed the differences between just going to church and belonging to a church family, one thing we must remember is that being a church member means we own and share in the Great Commission to make disciples (Mt. 28:19-20). Each of us in the church have a role in this mission. What's your role? Anniversaries like this weekend remind us why we need to be hard-at-work giving people the cure for sin.