We accept the mission Christ gave his followers, to “go” and “make disciples.”  We believe one way the power of Christ is demonstrated today is through the unity of diversity of His church as she seeks to grow her members in their individual relationships with Father and as she seeks to expand her reach for those that don’t know Christ yet.  For our families at this time, we believe He prepared us for and called us to this mission in São Luís, Brasil.

 

Our mission in broad terms is to expand His church in São Luís.  We are committed to establishing a “main avenue” church through a variety of contexts of the phrase.  We believe the “main avenue” the Spirit uses to reach the lost is through relationships with those who are already disciples of Christ.  This aspect of the mission is two-fold: guide the formation of disciple-making disciples through intentional relationships, and seek to establish new relationships with those who are not already Christ-followers. 

 

Another aspect of being a “main avenue” church is to establish a body of believers that is both accessible and relevant in the community.  Accessible pertains to both the physical presence of the church’s facilities and also to the character presence of the church’s members in the community. We want the physical location to be a credible and visible tool for outreach in the community.  We also want the membership to be a credible witness through their understanding of what it means to “love God” and “love [their] neighbor.”

 

We see relevance defined in both how we relate to and how we experience God.  This is carried out individually and congregationally as we are all growing, together.  Being open to each other’s influence helps us understand more than our own perspective of who God is, and it deepens our appreciation for the significance of being made in the image of God.  

 

Part of being a disciple is understanding our identity in Christ - simply that we were lost, we were saved, we are called to life, and we have been sent to share this good news.  Another aspect of being a disciple is understanding our identity in His church, and to lead others to find theirs. We understand that the strength of any community of believers is rooted in the daily development of relationships with God and neighbor.  Our diversity, wholly and healthily expressed, gives relevance to our witness to those who have not experienced the joy of being part of the church of Christ, and it helps us all grow in maturity and understanding. We can all grow in the knowledge of, connection to, the experience of, and service to our LORD.  

 

In all of this, our goal is to demonstrate grace and peace, rooted in love, through each individual relationship and each opportunity into which God leads us!

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