Mission- Why We Exist
Our mission as a church defines- in a broad sense-why we exist.

We, as Christians, believe that God has commanded us to take part in an extraordinary mission with Him on earth. God by no means needs us to complete this mission, but He has chosen us to work with Him and we consider that to be a great privilege and honor.

This mission was given by Jesus prior to His ascension back to the Father, after dying on a cross and rising from the dead. We can read about His command to us in Matthew 28:18-20

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

So in response to Christ’s command to us, we have adopted this simple Mission Statement:

“Our mission is to connect people to an everlasting committed relationship with Jesus Christ and with others.”

Our mission is crucial to our identity as a church. Without it, we are merely a club or an organization. With it we have direction, vision, purpose, conviction, and values that drive everything we do.

If something we do as a church is not accomplishing or complimenting our mission, it is not worth doing. We live and strive everyday as a church, and as individuals, to see our mission accomplished in our community.

Vision- Who We Are Becoming
“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” -Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)

With our Mission in focus, it is crucial that we are given a Vision of what the outcome of our Mission looks like- a picture, a goal, a plan of who we desire to be and to become as a church.

It is so true what King Solomon wrote in Proverbs nearly 3,000 years ago- Without vision, the people will perish. Other Bible translations say the people ‘will be unrestrained,’’discouraged.’. We need a Vision to aim for, to hope for, and to dream of as we are taking part in the Mission. If we don’t have one, we will have nothing to unite us together and nothing to keep us on Mission- we will perish.

So in response to our Mission Statement, our Vision Statement is:

To be a multiplying movement of passionate followers of Jesus who impact their communities and beyond with grace, love, and hope.

Together, our Mission and Vision, like two pedals on a bicycle propel us forward in all we do as a church.

Purpose- What We Do
But WHAT do we do as we’re pedaling forward with our Mission and Vision. We need clarity as to what our Purpose is, as a church, and as individuals- clarity on WHAT it is we do, exactly.

Our Purpose clarifies and elaborates on our Mission Statement. It helps us realize our Vision. It describes ‘WHAT we do’ as a church, and as individuals.

Our Purpose directs, clarifies, and prioritizes everything we do as a church. We choose to devote all of time and resources to doing these things in order to see our Vision realized and our Mission accomplished.

Our Purpose Statement is:

Fellowship Church exists to-

WORSHIP the Lord Jesus Christ;
GROW in relationship with Him;
CONNECT in authentic, encouraging, and accountable relationships with each other;
SERVE and meet the needs of the world around us; and
SHARE the grace, love, and hope that we have found in Jesus Christ in a tangible way with everyone.

These 5 purposes are a recurring theme throughout Scripture on how we are to live as God’s creation, and especially in the New Testament, on how we are to function as a church.

We find the strongest examples of this in the accounts of The Greatest Commandment (Matthew 22:36-40), The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), and The Early Christian Church (Acts 2:42-47).