Strategies (beg/concrete)
Heartland's two-fold mission
BEG
- B - befriend lost people in your existing network of relationships.
- E - expose them to the gospel in a safe environment
- G - give a verbal witness to your faith in Christ
In II Corinthians 5:20, Paul tells us we are "Christ's ambassadors"
and that, through us, God BEGS the world to be reconciled to Himself. Isn't that
amazing? We are the wrongdoers, but God does the begging! That’s the message
of the whole Bible - GOD DOES THE SEEKING! As a church, we must reflect the same.
We don't wait for the lost to pursue the ambassadors – we actively seek
to reconcile. At Heartland Community Church, that means the burden is on us to
befriend lost people and expose them to the message of reconciliation. During
our Sunday services, we make every effort to create an environment conducive to
people bringing unchurched friends to hear God's offer of grace and forgiveness
presented in a relevant way.
CONCRETE
- C - committed to Jesus as forgiver and leader
- O - ownership of a personal relationship with Christ through a
devotional life
- N - new community involvement for growth in worship and knowledge
- C - connected to a small group that fosters friendships and cares for
personal needs
- R - reinvested in the lives of lost people
- E - engaged in serving your "community" - both locally and globally
- T - trained in spiritual gifts and mobilized in ministry
- E - enables God's work through appropriate use of the resources God has
provided
Jesus called people to do more than just believe certain things about Him. He
called people to FOLLOW HIM. He suggested this meant making concrete changes.
We’re to be different than the surrounding world (Matthew 5:13-16, 48).
Today, the church often is different from the world only in belief. In the first
century, the church was different in reality. That is why they were called people
of THE WAY (Acts 9:2 & 24:14). Heartland desires to help Christians grow
in this CONCRETE way. Our approach presumes growth will not occur by simply
listening to good teaching. Concrete growth comes through action. Our New Community
service is geared towards encouraging believers to action. Small groups provide
accountability for growth, and our programs provide opportunity for practice.
