MONTH THREE | SESSION THREE

WIND: MISSION IS WHY THE CHURCH EXISTS

“The church doesn’t exist to meet our needs.  We are the church, and we exist to meet the needs of the world.”  -Erwin McManus

With anything in life, action is informed by purpose.  For example, we know that the purpose of a spoon is to scoop food.  Knowing that purpose, we can then make decisions on how we are going to use it.  If we didn’t understand that purpose first, we might try using the spoon as a hammer, a mirror, or any other random actions that we saw fit.  While you certainly could use a spoon to hammer a nail, you are quickly going to find yourself exhausted and frustrated with how to get your cereal into your mouth. 

The church, like anything else, has a purpose.  That purpose is spelled out by Jesus in His last words to us on earth in the book of Matthew:  

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Our mission is to make followers of Jesus and teach them how to observe His way of life.  With this understanding, we then know what to do as the church and how to spend our time, energy, and resources.  We are a people that are called out for this specific mission, and this is what everything centers around. 

Many people have related to the church as some sort of elite social club, with rights and benefits that others do not have access to.  Church has often become synonymous with a building, programs, Sunday services and finding a safe or comfortable life.  This couldn’t be further from the movement that Jesus was establishing.  The church really should look and feel more like a special ops team or a radical humanitarian effort for redeeming the human condition.  

Your life was made for a mission, and that mission is tied to the larger movement known as the church.  You cannot fulfill your personal calling on your life without the church, and the church cannot fulfill its unique mission in the world without your unique gifting and calling!  All of your life’s experiences, your talents and abilities, your wounds and successes, can be used to share the hope of Jesus to a lost and broken world.  

You are a light to the world because the Light of the World lives in you if you follow Him.  

Do not forget that.

You were made to illuminate any place or person that has found themselves trapped in darkness and looking for a way out.  You were made to heal the broken and set captives free.  Above everything else, this is the mission that you were made for, and the church is the vehicle through which God chooses to work.  

We use the metaphor of wind to describe this core value.  The Greek word pneuma means ‘spirit,’ but it also means ‘breath’ or ‘wind.’  Just like the wind, we cannot see the Spirit of God, but we can see Him moving and working all around us.  Wind has the ability to clear out smoggy skies and bring new life to our lungs.  When the Spirit of God moves, we move with Him.

CORE CONVICTION THREE 

THE LOCAL CHURCH IS GOD’S AGENT FOR REDEMPTIVE CHANGE

God chooses to use communities of believers to bring redemption to their specific part of the world.  While God can and does use individuals for his purposes, it is the community of faith that He works through to ultimately bring faith, love and hope to the world.  In the eyes of God, there are no isolated followers in the movement of Jesus, there are only communities working in cooperation with what He is doing all around them. 

In the Greek, the word for church is ecclesia, and means called out ones.  When you follow the way of Jesus, you are called out from your individual and self-centered life into this larger mission and community.  We do this together, as those called out to transform the world.

READ ACTS 2:1 - 13 

This passage is known as the birth of the movement known as the church.  Notice that the natural instinct of these people being filled with the Spirit of God is to go out and share it with the world around them.  



What do you think this means for you today?  Write out what it might look like for you to be filled with the Spirit of God and be on mission.



READ MATTHEW 9:37-38

READ MATTHEW 28:19-20

READ MARK 16:15

According to these verses, what is our purpose as the church? 

God will use everything from your past and present to serve the powerful purposes of God.  Think through these things, and write out how God might be wanting to use them for His mission:

  • Talents and Abilities

  • Past hurts, addictions or wounds

  • Your education and/or career

  • Your passions and hobbies

It’s critical to be clear about your personal mission as a part of the church, knowing how to prioritize your life.  Think through some things you might have to start, and some things you might have to give up or shift, to fully engage that mission.  Once that is complete, ask God if there is anything else to put on the list.  

PRAYER

Spend some time in prayer sharing with God about your willingness to join Him on this mission of redeeming humanity. Share specifically what you are willing to give up and what you are willing to take on. Make a list as you pray.  Listen for His voice, and if there is anything He is asking of you right now to do, anything He is asking you to say, or anywhere He is asking you to go.  Follow His leading.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

  • What are some ideas, images or concepts of church that you grew up with?

  • Where do you feel inadequate, insecure or anxious to live out the mission that God has given you?

  • Where do you feel confident, secure and excited to live out the mission that God has given you?