Mission And The Local Church

Mission and the Local Church

The mission of the church commission by God has not changed. The church is a global enterprise that has entities in almost every country seeking the same goal. The churches mission surpasses time, change, and culture. The mission is unchanged but how it is achieved changes from culture and over time. “Mission is to be done that appreciates culture, taking into account the way the gospel is proclaimed and more deeply reflected upon, and this in ways that recognize the prior presence of God’s spirit among the world’s people (Bevans, 2013 page 8).” First Wesleyan Church seeking to fulfill the mission of the church to the unique culture of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Analyzing First Wesleyan’s mission and vision reveals the strengths and weaknesses compared with the unchanging mission of the church universal.

First Wesleyan Churches Mission

First Wesleyan Church in Bartlesville, Oklahoma is located in the heart of the Bible belt. Bartlesville, Oklahoma is a stagnate growth community with extreme wealthy and poverty. According to First Wesleyan’s website, “our mission is defined by God, through the Holy Bible. In two very important Bible passages we find out mission. Both of the Bible passages are from the words of Jesus Christ: Matthew 28:18-20 and Matthew 22:37-40. It is our mission to love God, love others and help others know and love God (2015).” The mission is carried out through three simple concepts: Come, Grow, and Go. First Wesleyan wants people to come to know Christ and come to church. Secondly, they intend to help people grow in their relationship with Christ through worship services, discipleship training and small groups. When people are growing they will want to go serve in the church, communi...

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...rm for First Wesleyan but there are few resources, training, and opportunities offered that create a culture of serving within the church. There are no consistent local mission opportunities offered and the few mission trip opportunities are limit by numbers and are typically hand selected neglecting much the church those opportunities.

Conclusion

Analyzing First Wesleyan’s mission and vision reveals the strengths and weaknesses compared with the unchanging mission of the church universal. First Wesleyan offers a lot of ministries to reach the world for Christ but does so from the comfort of the church. No church is perfect and all could be better at achieving the mission of the church. Though the mission is unchanging the approach changes from culture to culture. First Wesleyan will continue to seek to better fulfill its mission to Bartlesville, Oklahoma and beyond.