The mission of every church should stem from The Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8. The Great Commission is the command from Jesus to go into all areas of the world, preach the gospel, baptize, and disciple new believers. While that is the backbone of our mission, vision, and purpose, we need to define how that exists in our context.
Our mission, vision, and purpose play out in 3 parts consisting of 7 words:
Know Christ, Grow in Christ, Show Christ
These 3 phrases are simultaneously our Mission and Vision Statement, as well as the process by which we make disciples.
The end result of discipleship and church attendance is not how many people sit in the sanctuary or in a small group. The end result is men and women, teenagers, and boys and girls who look, talk, think, and act like Jesus Christ. In other words, we become those who Know Christ, Grow in Christ, and Show Christ.
First and foremost, we desire to be men and women, boys and girls who Know Christ. You see we are to love God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength. Each person’s personal relationship with God is the most important thing in life. Know Christ is on display and reinforced through our Sunday worship services. This is where each person is introduced to Jesus Christ and is challenged to Know Him and live for Him.
The second step is Grow in Christ. Once we are saved our story doesn’t end there, our story is only beginning. Growing in Christ is developed in Small Groups. Our small groups meet each week. During this weekly time, each person will begin to do life with others, learn from each other, and Grow in Christ together. We feel Small Groups are very important as you also learn to dig into God’s Word, the Bible, for yourselves and form accountability with others in the Small Group.
Thirdly, we desire to Show Christ. Those who know the story share the story. As we learn to Know Christ and Grow in Christ, our next step is to tell other people about Him. There are many ways to do that. It can be as simple as cleaning a house for someone who is not able or being involved in one of our many community outreaches. It could be traveling around the world to a different country, volunteering in the Youth or Children’s ministry, or singing in the praise team. To Show Christ simply means that each person is involved in doing ministry through Mill Creek. The goal is to reach as many people as we can with the gospel of Jesus Christ, whether it’s in Bardstown or somewhere else in the world.
Because Here at Mill Creek Baptist Church we desire to have everyone that comes through our doors to Know Christ, where we give everyone opportunities to Grow in Christ, so they are equipped to Show Christ when they step out of our doors.
