The Mission and Purpose of Waterdam Church
OUR
MISSION:
OUR
PURPOSES:
1. Intimacy with God (Jn.15:5-11,
Mk.12:30, Col.3:16-17)
Believers are transformed
into the image of Christ as they build close, personal relationships with the
Lord and live a life more fully devoted to Him. Scripture gives us three means
of developing intimacy with God
Worship (Psalm 100:1-5, 1Cor.10:31)
True
worship involves acknowledging our proper place before the almighty God. When we worship, we are glorifying God, while
at the same time placing ourselves in submission to Him. He is our Lord and our Master; we are His
humble servants, whose lives are entirely dependent on Him. It is God's desire
that we conduct all aspects of our lives in this worshipful manner, which makes
us wholly devoted to the Lord and draws us closer to Him.
Prayer (Eph.6:18, Phil.4:6-7, 1Pet.5:6-7)
God has
given us the amazing privilege of talking directly with Him. The Bible instructs us to pray on all
occasions with all kinds of requests, intercession, and thanksgiving. The Holy Spirit uses our open and honest
prayers to interact with us and lead us into a more intimate relationship with
our Lord. Through prayer we lay
ourselves bare before our loving Father, submit our will to His will, and entrust
our cares to His care.
Bible Study
(2Tim.3:16-17, Rom.12:2)
The Bible
is God's direct revelation to us. God
uses the Bible to teach, guide, correct, and encourage us. As we study and devote ourselves to
Scripture, we are drawn closer to the Lord, and we learn to think and to act in
His ways instead of our own. Our desire
is to be so saturated in the Word of God that our minds are renewed, causing us
to be transformed into the image of Christ.
2. Community with One Another
To be in community means to
belong to one another. The Church is a
spiritual union of believers, bound by the Holy Spirit into one Body. Every member of the Body is a part of every
other member, brought together for the purpose of mutual edification, building
one another up into strong, mature, and faithful followers of Jesus Christ, so
that together we are transformed into the image of Christ. There are two
primary tasks given to the Church to accomplish the building up of the Body.
Fellowship (Heb.10:24-25)
To be in
true fellowship is to share dedicated, consistent, and intentional involvement
in the lives of the other members of the Body, for the purpose of caring for,
encouraging, and supporting one another.
As brothers and sisters in Christ we help each other to grow in faith
and godliness, "spurring each other on to love and good works". Fellowship is the practical, daily living out
of the fact that we belong to one another.
Fellowship
is about being
together with the Body.
Ministry (Eph.4:1-16, 1Pet.4:10)
Every member of the Body is called to use his or her unique gifts, talents, and abilities to serve the Body, administering God's grace to His children. This is done in order that the members will be strengthened, built up to spiritual maturity, and equipped for further ministry.
Ministry
is about working
together in the Body.
The Church is called to go
out into the lost and dying world with a message of hope, that reconciliation
with God is possible through Jesus Christ.
When people have an encounter with Jesus and turn their lives over to
Him, they are transformed into new creations and become adopted sons and
daughters of the King of Kings. Scripture
talks about our calling to impact the world in two distinct but related ways.
Evangelism (Rom.10:13-17, 1Cor.9:19-23, Eph.2:10)
Lost
people need to hear the Gospel because that is the means God uses to bring
salvation into their lives. God has given
us the privilege and command to deliver this Gospel message to the people
around us, to our community, and to the ends of the earth. The way we deliver the message may be adapted
to the particular audience, but the content of the message is always the saving
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Service (Mk.12:31,
Mt.5:13-16)
To be like
Jesus is to have hearts full of compassion, to be able to recognize the needs
of hurting people, and to be actively involved in meeting those needs wherever
possible as the Lord gives us the means and the ability. We serve because we love people, and because
we want people to know that God loves them too.
As we perform acts of service, it is our desire that people will see
Jesus in us, hear about Jesus from us, and be drawn to God's saving grace.
THEREFORE:
As
followers of Jesus Christ, and as the Body that claims Jesus as our head, we
the members of