What is the mission of the church?

The Church’s Mission Statement and Purpose

Organization has a mission statement, and a church is really no different. If they want to be laser focused on why they exist, it's helpful to have a concise objective that both reminds them of the vision and really helps others understand what they're about.

So our mission statement here at 12 .5 is simple. It's gathering and equipping believers for every good work. So what does that mean? What do we mean by every good work? This good work can easily be summed up in the Great Commission.

Most of us know this command that Jesus gave to his disciples in Matthew chapter 28 verses 19 and the first part of 20. It says, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

Making Disciples and Teaching Obedience

So Jesus is very clear here with this mission statement. He gives his disciples a straightforward objective, and in this command Jesus gives us two specific objectives. The first one is make disciples.

Go therefore and make disciples. The second one is training disciples, teaching them all that he has commanded us. But a vast majority of churches today have a tendency to fixate on one of these commands to the neglect of the other.

Well, you've probably seen what I'm talking about where they place their focus and their resources on just making disciples, just bringing in new people into the church and seeing people saved, but never really get around to teaching those new believers biblical doctrine.

These are those churches whose teaching is really a mile wide and an inch deep. Their people never really move from milk to the meat of the word, that meat that grows them into mature Christians. Their idea of biblical training is just another course or study on marriage, finances, or even a book of the Bible from a very surface level perspective.

They do these classes because they know that's what people want. It's pragmatism. It's not what people need. People need to grow in their knowledge of God. When they're consistently confronted with the holiness of God, all these other things like broken marriages, addictions, freedom from sin, they begin to resolve themselves in light of who they once were and who this good and loving God has made them now.

The Danger of One-Sided Ministry

So, of course, I've known people who are in churches like this who have have grown into spiritual maturity, but not because of the church. It's in spite of it. They get their meat in other ways through podcasts, YouTube videos, personal Bible study or even Bible study with other friends, but this is not healthy.

The other extreme is equally unhealthy. It's those churches who become so focused on doctrine and neglect making disciples. This is proof that their doctrine has been distorted, right? This is a knowledge that puffs up, that makes them proud, makes them lazy, but any doctrine that doesn't lead to a greater obedience to all that Christ has commanded of us is a gospel-less doctrine.

This kind of teaching can only lead to legalism, despair, and indifference, and I think we've all seen this type of religiosity. Both of these extremes are not only far too common, they're dangerous. So is 12 .5 Church going to be able to carry out these commands perfectly?

Of course not, but just like many of the other good churches out there, we're going to seek to be obedient while trusting that God is going to do his work in and through us. So we're going to strive to be gathering and equipping believers for every good work.

Seeking a Healthy Church and the Full Counsel of God

So I encourage you, if you look around and find that you are in a church that falls to either of these extremes, I encourage you to go humbly and plead with your leadership to repent and come back into alignment with God's Word, and if they won't, I strongly encourage you to find somewhere that will.

Don't settle or look for a church with all the amenities, the youth groups, children's ministries, great music, all the things that we're typically drawn to. Look for a church that preaches the truths and full counsel of God, because all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work, just as the Apostle Paul tells us in his book to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17.

Carrying Out the Great Commission at 12 Five Church

So if you want to know more about how we intend as a church here at 12 Five Church to carry out this two-sided objective of the Great Commission, well, reach out to us. Send us an email. You can go to 12fivechurch .com, and you can find information, and you can reach out to us there.

You can call, reach out to us here on social media. We would love to talk with you and share a little bit about the future and the vision of how we intend to carry out this Great Commission while we gather and equip saints for the good work.