WHY & HOW - THEOLOGY OF MISSIONS
From the first chapters of Genesis and the creation of the world, it has been clear God has a purpose for humankind. He charged Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it." (Genesis 1:22) God gave a similar command to Noah after the Flood. In Genesis 12 God gave Abraham a promise of descendants, resources, influence and protection - all so Abraham might be a blessing to the nations. This promise was repeated to each of Abraham's descendants and, according to Hebrews 11, it applies to us today.
In five different accounts in the New Testament, Jesus charged his followers to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, making converts / disciples and teaching them to do the same thing (repeat the process). This commission runs parallel to the early mandates and promises that God gave in Genesis. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, it is clear that God is on a mission to bring the people of the Earth back into relationship with Him. And God has chosen to use the church as a partner in this process. The term for this process, this expansion of the Kingdom of God, this reclamation of the sinful and rebellious peoples of the Earth, is MISSION.
Therefore, God's MISSION should be at the heart of all that we do at Central Baptist Church Bearden rather than being just one among several things we do. It is appropriate to remove the final ‘s' in missions and simply refer to ‘mission', because we are called to participate in Christ's MISSION to the world. God the Father sent Christ the Son and God and Christ the Son has sent us (John 20:21). In Acts 1:8 the Church is given power by the Holy Spirit.
Closely tied to mission is PRAYER. We pray for those serving around the world and for all the unreached people of our world, and for God to call out people to serve them in Christ's name. And, we emphasize the call to participate, hands-on, in the MISSION of Christ. We pray for the day when the Central Baptist Bearden family places the mission of Christ at the heart of our lives and the life of our church. We also desire to emphasize the necessity of sacrificial living and giving so that the mission of Christ can be fulfilled around the world.
• We believe that every Christian/church member is to be ON MISSION WITH GOD (a missionary) with the WORLD as our mission field. Our world extends from our front door to the farthest corner of the earth.
• Our understanding of God's call to us:
1. Mission - expanding and strengthening the Kingdom of God by being the presence of Christ in the world
2. Missions - activity we do to carry out God's mission
3. Missionary - anyone who participates in the mission of God; anyone who goes forth or is sent
4. Missional - aligning one's life with the redeeming mission of God
• A good way to measure the vitality of a congregation
is its involvement in missions
Missions shall be defined as the sending or going of commissioned persons beyond the campus of Central Baptist Bearden and our immediate influence, that is, beyond the immediate ministry reach of our church. Missions is any organized endeavor having the goal of fulfilling any aspect of the Great Commission or fulfilling any part of God's mission.
SCRIPTURAL PURPOSES OF MISSIONS
• To fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20)
• To bring people to the knowledge of God and salvation (John 3:16; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:13-15)
• To express Christ's love for the world (Matthew 9:36-38; 18:10-14)
• To build up the body of Christ around the world through discipling (Ephesians 4:12-16)
• To minister to the totality of human need (Matthew 10:42; Mark 9:41)
LOCAL MISSIONS - shall be defined as those activities and endeavors which take place within a commutable distance of Knoxville, places one could serve without having to spend the night
STATE / NATIONAL MISSIONS - (sometimes referred to as home missions) shall be defined as those activities and endeavors which take place outside the metro Knoxville area but within the rest of Tennessee and the United States
GLOBAL MISSIONS - (sometimes referred to as world missions, foreign missions or international missions) shall be defined as all other world mission endeavors, including Canada, Mexico and beyond
MISSIONS MINDED versus BEING MISSIONAL
A common question is, "What is the difference in being ‘missions minded' and being ‘missional'?" Simply put, being missions minded is taking up money and sending others on a mission, or forwarding (exporting) it to a sending agency who sends others, then we pray for them and continue to send more money. Being missional, on the other hand, is recognizing that we are all to be involved and on mission personally, as well as, or in addition to, assisting others to do the same. The personal involvement should be on an ever increasing level. The church does not exist to merely support missions or missionaries, but to BE missionaries on mission. In short, the church exists for mission, the mission of Christ as given by God.
COOPERATIVE MISSIONS
Baptists have long stressed the autonomy of the local church. And we have many, many GOOD ministries and mission involvements that we do "on our own." But Baptists are also widely known for cooperative efforts that allow congregations to do together what they cannot achieve alone. Thus, Central Baptist Bearden has many partnerships for this reason, both within the denomination and within the greater Christian community.
BAPTIST AFFILIATIONS INCLUDE
Knox County Baptist Association (KCAB) www.kcab.org
Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (TCBF) www.tncbf.org
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) www.thefellowship.info
Tennessee Baptist Convention (TBC) www.tnbaptist.org
Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) www.sbc.net
North American Mission Board (NAMB) www.namb.net
International Mission Board (IMB) www.imb.org
Women's Missionary Union (WMU) www.wmu.com
Baptist World Alliance (BWA) www.bwanet.org
Baptist World Aid of BWA (BWAid) www.bwanet.org
Baptist Medical Dental Fellowship (BMDF) www.bmdf.org
Baptist Center for Ethics (BCE) www.ethicsdaily.com
Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty www.bjconline.org
Gulf Coast Hurricane Relief - Email gcrelief@tnbaptist.org
