THE GREAT COMMANDMENT
“LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD with all your heart . . . soul . . . and mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR as yourself. All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40
THE GREAT COMMISSION
“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 DO everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20
Five Purposes For The Church
Jesus’ ministry modeled these 5 purposes: John 17:1-26
Vs. 4 “I have brought you glory on earth.” (WORSHIP)
Vs. 6 “I revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world.” (EVANGELISM)
Vs. 8 “I gave them the words you gave me.” (DISCIPLESHIP)
Vs. 12 “While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe.” (FELLOWSHIP)
Vs. 18 “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” (MINISTRY)
The first church fulfilled these 5 purposes in Acts 2:41-47
“Those who accepted his message were baptized . . . They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer . . . All the believers were together . . . they gave to anyone as he had need . . . Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God . . . And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Paul explained these 5 purposes in Ephesians 4:11-16
“God gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of ministry, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ . . . From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
THE CHURCH EXISTS TO . . .
“O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together.” Psalm 34:3 (RSV)
“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the Lord’s house.’” Psalm 122:1 (GN)
“Evangelize our mission field”
“The most important thing is that I complete my mission - the work the Lord gave me to do - to tell people the Good News about God’s grace.” Acts 20:24 (NCV)
“You will be my witnesses . . .” Acts 1:8 (NIV)
“You are a member of God’s very own family and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian.” Ephesians 2:19 (LB)
“. . . building up the church, the body of Christ, to a position of strength and maturity . . . until all become full grown in the Lord.” Ephesians 4:12b-13 (LB)
. . . to prepare God’s people for the work of ministry.” Ephesians 4:12a
HOW TO LEAD YOUR CHURCH TO COMMIT TO GOD’S PURPOSES
THE SLOW / LONG WAY (6 months)
1. Lead your members in a study of the biblical passages about the church. Study four things:
Christ’s ministry on earth—What did Jesus do?
The images of the church (Family, Flock, Body, etc.)
The New Testament churches
The commands of Christ
Important Verses About the Purposes of the Church
2. Ask two questions as you study:
3. Write a summary of your answers to these two questions.
Then edit out the unnecessary words. Make it as brief as possible.
4. Shorten your summary into a SINGLE SENTENCE. This becomes your church’s purpose statement.
Four characteristics of a great Purpose Statement:
It’s BIBLICAL - Jesus decides the purposes of His church, not us!
It’s SPECIFIC - Nothing becomes dynamic until it becomes specific.
It’s MEMORABLE - Short enough to remember & pass on to others.
It’s MEASURABLE - So you can evaluate your church every year.
THE SHORT WAY (40 days) Used by tens of thousands of churches
1. Take your entire church (adults, youth, and children) through the 40 Days of Purpose Journey using the 40-Day Kit, which includes:
6 sermons to adapt and preach
6 Small Group videos and curriculum
40 days of daily readings (The Purpose Driven Life book)
6 Bible memory verse tags
Instructions for your campaign team and small group HOSTS
2. Adopt a Purpose Driven slogan and statement for your congregation:
SADDLEBACK CHURCH SLOGAN:
“A GREAT COMMITMENT TO THE GREAT COMMANDMENT AND THE GREAT COMMISSION WILL GROW A GREAT CHURCH!”
To bring people to Jesus and membership in His family, develop them to Christ-like maturity, and equip them for their ministry in the church and their life mission in the world, in order to magnify God’s name.
An effective purpose statement is stated:
A) In terms of RESULTS rather than activities
B) In a SEQUENTIAL PROCESS
“Bring them in . . . Build them up . . . Train them for . . . Send them out!”
3. Establish an orientation class for each purpose. (Class 101, 201, 301, 401, 501)
4. Follow up with a study of The Purpose Driven Church simulcast and book