The Mission Briefing – March 2024

Church newsletters can serve many purposes. They are a teaching platform to build faith and equip for ministry. They highlight current events and information about the church family. And I will utilize those purposes from time to time, but my primary intention is to keep the mission of the church in front of you every month. We are a missional people. It’s so easy to lose the vision and forget the purpose for which we are here. That’s when life gets most o¿€Ø› the tracks and leaves us feeling stuck. I see it as my role in the church to keep us from such experiences. We are the church. We are people sent from the King to weld His message, authority, and power. We are sent and filled with His Spirit to make Him known to people in desperate circumstances. So many of the people we rub elbows with are in a prison they cannot see, taste, or smell. Yet, Jesus has the keys and He has passed them to you. What a privilege! We need to help people find their way into the Kingdom. What a responsibility!

Our mission is essentially relational. This sounds easy for the extroverts. People who like to be social, like the limelight, can speak confidently, and have winsome personalities. Are they the missionaries in our minds. But does God use them more than the many of introverts in the church? Absolutely not! God has made us all just the way we are for His mission. Understand that when you read this article this month. Some of these are going to come more natural to you than others. I encourage you to start with what is natural for you but do not rule out the others. We need you. You belong.

Since our mission informational but that is the easy part. What I want to emphasize is that our mission is also very relational. To carry out our mission we start new relationships. As Christians, we need to get better at starting new and maintaining existing relationships with people in the community. Let’s be clear about that. Because Jesus welcomed us into His life, we welcome people into ours. Love, generosity, hospitality, compassion, encouragement, support, all these Christian virtues can be practiced not just to maintain relationships but to start them. If starting new relationships has not already scared you from reading this briefing, you might be asking, where should I start looking for new relationships? Good question. It’s so easy, all of us can do it. Really!

Start with what you already like and what you already do. Start relationships where you work. God has placed you in your employment not just to earn a paycheck but to be a missionary. But don’t stop at work, look for your other spheres of influence like restaurants you frequent, the place you exercise, and think about the other hobbies you have. Build relationships with the parents of your children’s friends, their coaches, teachers, and school administrators. Look where you can get involved in the community. There really are so many opportunities! I encourage you to start small. Just try to make one or two new acquaintances a week. God will be in every one of them. He will grow them and help you through the whole thing. No pressure. If your memory is like mine you should keep a record of the people you meet in an app on your phone or a journal and then pray through it as frequently as you can. This will give you some people to pray for and help you remember their names before the next soccer game.

Some of you are ready to learn more about presenting the gospel to people and praying for them to receive Jesus, and we will get to that, but it is important to start here. Christians care about people more than anything else besides the Lord Himself. The love of God and the humility of the Savior is in us through the Holy Spirit. Just open your life up. Instead of putting your head down and plowing through your errands, put a smile on and learn someone’s name. Find out one thing about a person and begin praying for him or her. Not every experience will seem fruitful and there may even be some feelings of rejection to deal with but don’t let that discourage you. You were made for love and connection. That’s your life-giving calling in Jesus.

Let’s be missional and be about people, just like Jesus.

Growing in mission,

Pastor Kyle