Saved People Live Sent
GO
GROUPS
This is a ministry we are currently developing that’s designed to equip leaders in our church that have a heart to reach "the least of these" in our local community. Instead of just giving a "hand out", we want to give a "hand up". We believe the only way to do this is to go into communities, invest in relationships, build community, share the Gospel, and start small groups.
OUTREACH
EVENTS
Periodically throughout the year, we will have outreach events such as Fall Festival, Service Week, Christmas Service Projects, etc. These events serve the purpose of sharing the Gospel with our community through the love of Jesus. Our goal is to share the Gospel with our community adn get them plugged into a local church so that they can hear the Word of God and get connected to the body of Christ. We believe loving our city is so very important and we feel the best way we can love them is to share the amazing love of Jesus with them.
CHURCH
PLANTING
At Connection, we believe the local church is God's Plan A to reach the world. So, one of the primary ways we love our world is by planting new churches. We believe the local church is God's Plan A to reach the world. We want to share the love of Christ with the world and one of the primary ways we love our world is by investing in and planting new churches. We believe the most beneficial thing for every community is a church that can proclaim and live out the gospel of Jesus. Studies show that new churches centered on the Gospel have a tremendous impact in a short amount of time. That’s why we are very focused and committed to planting churches like ours. As mentioned earlier, we are a part of the Connection Network and we collectively have a vision to plant 50 churches by 2050.
INTERNATIONAL
MISSIONS
We believe Jesus has commissioned us to not only reach people in our local context, but it is also the local church’s responsibility to be involved in reaching the nations. We engage our church body by:
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Educating our members on international missions.
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Supporting missionaries planting churches among unreached people groups.
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Having every member involved in reaching the nations either as an intercessor, a mobilizer, a sender, a goer or a welcomer.
"Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." [Matthew 28:18-20]
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." [Acts 1:8]
These two scriptures drive our Missions and Outreach Ministry. We believe wherever God sends us, we are to share the Gospel and make disciples. We carry that out through 4 primary focuses outside of the church:
Missions Convictions
We Believe our God is a Missionary God
We see God’s Missionary nature in God sending his Son to earth to save sinners. In the same way, we believe we should embody the same mission and have a sending culture from within our Church. (See John 3:16)
We believe the Gospel produces an urgency for missions.
If this Gospel is the power to save, then our primary mission is to get the gospel to as many people as possible. The same reality that would be upon us if we were not reached with the Gospel still remains on the unreached peoples of the world. This should create in us an urgency to take the Gospel to the nations. (See Romans 1:16, Romans 10:17)
We prioritize the unreached among the nations.
In light of God’s global plan, we believe leveraging our resources to reach the unreached is best. That’s why at Connection Church we specifically target people groups with little to no access to the Gospel (unreached). We believe all mission work in the world is good and needed but it is our conviction to make the unreached our priority. (See Genesis 12:1-3, Revelation 7:9)
We believe the Church is God's Plan A to reach the nations.
The church was created because there is a mission. We believe the church is the vehicle to reach the nations. The Church can be defined as a movement of people centered around the Gospel, focused on the mission of making disciples of all nations. As believers we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit will always lead us toward the mission. (See Acts 1:8)
We believe God has called us to plant churches among the unreached.
The goal is not just to share the Gospel but to plant an indigenous, elder led church amongst a people group. We believe in light of the Great Commission, we must plant a church amongst a people group to effectively disciple them. This means we don’t go to just share the Gospel and leave, but to stay amongst a people group and build God’s Church by making disciples. (See Matthew 28:18-20, Titus 1:5
We believe all disciples should be educated to have a world vision.
In light of the Great Commission, discipleship training that lacks a global vision is incomplete. That’s why we are committed to discipling our church to see the world around us the way God intended. We believe having a global worldview is critical in becoming a mature disciple of Jesus Christ. (See Genesis 12:1-3, Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, Revelation 5:9, Revelation 7:9)
We believe the local church is responsible for mobilizing and sending missionaries.
For years many churches have delegated training, mobilizing and sending missionaries to organizations. It is our conviction that it is the responsibility of the local church to identify, equip,
mobilize and send missionaries. Our greatest desire is to send out disciples of Jesus Christ into the world to accomplish the Great Commission. (See Acts 13:1-3)
We believe prayer is a major priority for missions.
Every great move of God throughout church history was preceded by prayer. We believe prayer is absolutely essential for mission work. It is our conviction to consistently pray for our current missionaries on the field, pray for more missionaries to be raised up and pray faithfully for unreached people groups among the nations to be reached. (See Acts 13:1-3)
We believe every member should be engaged in missions.
Again we believe that every member should have a global worldview, but also we believe every member should be engaged in global missions. In light of the Great Commission, there are 5 ways members can be involved in missions:
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Goer: Becoming a missionary who strategically moves amongst the unreached as a missionary on the field.
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Sender: Becoming a prayer and financial supporter of missionaries on the field by giving to missionaries directly.
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Welcomer: Becoming involved with welcoming and building relationships with Gospel intentionality with unreached people groups that live in or near our community.
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Mobilizer: Become a teacher to others about God’s story of reaching the nations and leveraging influence to mobilize people to learn and become involved in God’s plan to reach the nations.
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Intercessor: Consistently praying for unreached people groups to be reached, missionaries to be sent and God to be glorified.