CONTINUING THE MISSION OF CHRIST

A church consultant began a teaching session with the provocative statement, "God doesn't care whether your congregation thrives or declines, lives or dies." God cares about whether the transforming truth of Jesus Christ changes people -- and changes the world through them -- and God will gladly use our congregations for that purpose or work around our congregations for that purpose.

Congregations are not ends in themselves. Local churches are particular expressions of the body of Christ existing to further the mission that we see revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. In the lessons Jesus taught, the people He touched, the suffering He relieved, the forgiveness He offered, the justice He proclaimed, the life He lived, the sacrifice He made, the death He died, and the new life He revealed is "the life that really is life." Through congregations, the Holy Spirit knits people into communities that continue the life and witness of Christ. 

-- Robert Schnase in The Future of The United Methodist Church: 7 Vision Pathways, Abington Press, 2010


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