It's easy for us as Christians to think of "missions" from our own perspective: something that is the concern of career missionaries or is located far away in a foreign mission field. However I believe God would rather have us think of missions from his perspective: something that begins right at home with each of us being concerned about our friends, family, and neighbors who are lost apart from Christ. As a "home mission" pastor I want to encourage the people of Grace Community to think about how we can enter into our own mission field in Wesley Chapel, Florida. Here are some ways that our people have learned to reach out to others that might encourage you also to live with a greater sense of mission.

Pastor Jeff Olsen (top right) with volunteers

Connection Points:
Our Personal Mission Field (Relational Network)

To begin with, we encourage people to show God's love through their personal relationships and the natural networks in which they are already involved. All of us are involved with several groups of people. These connection points include our coworkers, neighbors, activities, etc.

Since our own family includes four young daughters, we have been able to consistently reach out to others at our local school, on our soccer team, and through my wife's preschool. It has been a real joy to see our friends come to know Christ, receive baptism - to see a whole family growing in faith.

Others might find their connection points in someone at the coffee shop, volunteers in a service organization, friends at the gym, or participants in a crafts group.

The Community:
Our Collective Mission Field (Geographic Network)

In addition to finding our individual connection points, we as a congregation can collectively show God's love for others by serving wherever God gives us opportunities in the geographic area where we meet. Here are some examples:

This past Thanksgiving we challenged our members to give back and get involved in a variety of charitable and community events including a Thanksgiving meal distribution, the organization of a large community Christmas celebration, and the distribution of gifts to local families by volunteering through "Toys For Tots." In the New Year we are encouraging small groups from our church to participate in the Souper Bowl of Caring, a Habitat For Humanity project, and a dinner for cancer patients.

When our congregation comes together to reach out to our community we are able to make additional connections where a single individual acting alone might not.

We Exist for Mission

Since God loves the whole world, we want to participate in God's mission locally, nationally, and internationally. We believe that the mission of the church goes far beyond simply offering a worship service on Sunday mornings. In fact, we are missionaries called to go to people who need to know about Jesus, to build friendships with them, to take the initiative, and to share the good news. This involves not just telling people about God's love, but showing them that God loves them so much that he sent his one and only Son to be their Savior so that whoever would believe in him would not perish, but have everlasting life.

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Rev. Jeff Olsen serves as pastor of Grace Community of Wesley Chapel, Florida.
www.exploregrace.com