Our Mission...If We Choose to Accept It!

          What is the Mission Statement of Ovid Community Church?  Can you recite it by memory?  I’ve heard many people utter the phrase, “Connecting People to God and to One Another.”  In a nutshell that is not wrong, but it is incomplete!

          Our Mission, at Ovid Community Church, is this: “Transforming Lives by Connecting People to God and Connecting Them to One-Another.”  It’s a subtle shift, but I will show you in this post why it is crucial for us to understand our mission if we are ever to begin fulfilling it!

          The Mission, broken down, has three components: There is one result (transforming lives/ transforming community) and two vehicles to get that result (connecting to God and connecting to one another).

          Connecting People to One-Another (Go)—this is the beginning of our mission as a congregation.  This is where we build relationships with one-another in the congregation, the community, and those we touch everyday.  This is where we share life with others in small groups or in one-on-one relationships.  The life we share with one-another is the life we have in Christ.  This is Mentoring! 

          Connecting People to God (Baptize—Celebration Moment)—this is the point where someone decides to take Christ seriously at His word and then commits' his life to follow the One who died and rose again to usher us into His glory!  I like to say that this point is the “AND” in Mentoring AND Discipleship...the convergence of the relationship with a person to an eternal relationship with God!

          Transforming Lives (Teach)—this is where we see the fruit of our labor; and by “labor” I mean fulfilling the great commission that Jesus left for us before He ascended into heaven: “Go” (Mentoring), “Baptize” (AND—the Celebration Moment), and “Teach” (Discipleship) - See MT 28:18-20.  “Go, Baptize and Teach” are the vehicles Jesus gave us to make disciples.  He used them during His time on earth and in training His disciples.  When He ascended, a community of transforming believers grew by the thousands at the mention of His name and the preaching of His word.  We don’t need a better model or program than that!

          We (The Church) must take seriously the mission Jesus left for us to Go, Baptize and Teach.  We all (young and old) can change the world for Christ by sharing our lives and faith with others!  Having a “biblical worldview” - viewing the world through God’s eyes (it’s all about Him) - will revolutionize our thinking and point us to the things that really matter—God and people!  The culture around us tells us we must put ourselves first in all we do. That worldview is based on secular thinking (it’s all about me).  Jesus gave us a great measuring tape in this verse:  John 13:34-35  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."  What would it look like if The Church would completely buy into that verse?  A Transformed World—A glimpse of Heaven! 

Marriage Refresher at Miracle Camp

Whenever we have an opportunity (Summer Camp, Ice Camp, Man Camp, Family Camp, and now Marriage Retreat) we love to spend time outside of Lawton, MI at Miracle Camp and Retreat Center.  Their mission is this: "Miracle Camp & Retreat Center exists to create life long change in youth, adults and families by strengthening their Christian faith and building community."  This is by far the best Christian Camp I have ever had the opportunity to observe.  From their strong commitment of faith to the great activities like High Ropes and Zip Line, Miracle Camp is a cut above the rest!

Rob - Zip-lining backwards upside-down (if you haven't read the
 children's book "Silly Sally Went to Town", then you may not get that comment!)

Along with the fun of the Zip Line, High Ropes, Climbing Wall, Hiking Trails, Lake Fun, Trap Shooting, Etc., Etc., Etc., whenever you attend a retreat or summer camp at MC, the fun is great, but the Spiritual Growth is the key to why they are successful.  The staff and volunteers serve you as an extension of the love that Christ shares.  The sessions for each camp are specifically designed for the target audience to help them grow Spiritually and relationally.  At the recent Marriage Retreat that 12 friends from Ovid attended, the focus was on marriage and parenting.  The material was presented in a humorous and serious manner, and was relevant to everyone attending...from grandparents to newlyweds.

I say all of this to share that finding a place to "get away" to refresh and renew yourself Spiritually, relationally and physically, is something we all need to do to keep our Kingdom focus and not get bogged down with the stress of life.

When you live out of a love for Christ, and your life shows it in all you do, it becomes so apparent even during times of renewal (sometimes even more so).  Last weekend, a dear freind of mine showed others a love for Christ in such a tangible way.  She felt so convicted for a couple that she was brought to tears and prayer for this couple; spending time with them in their time of need.  Even though we were only there for 2 1/2 days, she felt a love for this couple that extended into serving them...not for anything in return, but simply to show God's love for them in their time of need.  It was an incredible thing to watch her mentor the people around her by simply loving them, crying with them, and listening to them.  I know I only share this one story, but I will say I saw it many times from this incredible group of friends during the weekend...truly inspiring!

That level of mentoring is what Jesus had in mind when he said to Go make disciples of all nations...relational discipleship (or mentoring) is the key to building relationships with others in hopes that they will open their lives and hearts up to Jesus so that He can reach them and pursue them, drawing them into His Kigdom.  Discipleship (becoming a fully devoted follower of Christ) will rarely happen unless we mentor those around us by loving them and maybe sharing a tear along the way.  It can happen in our everyday travels as well as when we are renewing ourselves, as long as we know who we are in Christ!

This Marriage Retreat was a great time of renewal, growth and simply standing in awe of how God uses people who have chosen to follow Him with their lives.  Spending time away with Lisa (my wife) was great for our communication and connection to one-another.  I love Miracle Camp, but it comes after my love for God, Lisa and my kids!

Isn't she beautiful!  Smiling at 40' above the ground!

If you would like more info about Miracle Camp, you can ask me or Click Here!  You won't be disappointed!

Mentoring, Discipleship and Biblical Worldview

Mentoring and Discipleship are the keys to any ministry.  Without them, and the understanding of how they relate to a Biblical Worldview, a ministry can become an idol – or you can become your own idol!  Let me give you an example: 

Say you have a passion for serving orphans and widows – both very important and biblical.  While serving them, you develop a relationship, building trust as you feed and provide basic needs.  This relationship building, with Christ at the center, is mentoring.  As the relationship grows, the needs expand beyond physical needs, to include spiritual needs – “Why me? or “Where is God when I need Him?” or “Why would God let me suffer like this?” or “I am not sure if God even exists?”  When the conversations turn to a Spiritual nature, sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ is the most important and only thing they need.  If they choose to accept His wonderful invitation, the invitation to believe He is Who He said He is, and follow Him, you have an awesome opportunity to Disciple this new believer to become a fully devoted follower of Christ. 

You see, if we are not serving from a Biblical Worldview, it becomes all about us and how we helped someone by giving them food or money.   Worldview is a term that many have had a hard time grasping, but it is simply how we “View” the “World”…we either view the world through “Biblical” eyes, the very heart of God, or we view the world through our own selfish desires, which is a secular (non-Godly) way of thinking.  A Biblical Worldview is a view that understands Jesus gave us a mission to fulfill – Go (mentor) make disciples, Baptize (showing them the way of salvation and allowing them to make a choice to follow Him) and teach them to obey all He has commanded (Disciple).  See Matthew 28:18-10.

From a Biblical Worldview approach – I serve others for the following reasons (and many more):

1)      To glorify God!

2)      To share the Good News of Jesus Christ because it is the only way to eternal life with God. 

3)      To minister to a need in someone’s life to not only fill that need, but to draw them to the One that gives you the passion to want to serve them.

4)      God loves them and I love God and take serious the command He gave us to Go, Baptize and Teach - Matthew 28:

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 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,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." 

5)      I love them because God’s Word says to love God and love my neighbor (which is everyone!) - Matthew 22:

35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with this question:
36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
37 Jesus replied: "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.`
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 And the second is like it: `Love your neighbor as yourself.`
40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

From a Worldly Approach – I serve others for the following reasons (again, there are more):

1)      I provide their basic needs of food and clothing which gives me a sense of fulfillment because I use what I have to help someone in need.

2)      I feel good about myself when I help others.

3)      Others think highly of me when they see me helping someone less fortunate.

4)      I never know who I am going to help and how that may in turn be a benefit for me.

I know it’s obvious, but the Secular Worldview says it’s all about me and what others may think of me.  The Biblical Worldview says that I love God and view the world through His eyes…for His glory and for the building of His Kingdom…It’s about Him, not me!

When we place God first in all we say and do our worldview begins to shift to the things that God desires.  Our hearts break for the things that break His heart.  Our passions (or calling) line up with His will.  Our selfish desires begin to take backseat to His calling on our lives. 

There are dozens of people around each of us every day who are facing judgment and heading for Hell…and God’s heart breaks.  Does it break yours?  Does it break mine? 

God, break our hearts for the things that break your heart!  Show us the people in our lives, in our direct influence every day, that You would have us to build relationships – relationships with a purpose…then convict us to act upon those promptings!  If our relationships do not honor or glorify You, I pray you line them up with Your plan for our lives and call us to a greater plan – Your plan!  It’s in the powerful name of Jesus I pray, AMEN!