The Where
Our missions philosophy is best summed up in Acts 1:8, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Missions starts in our own “Jerusalem”. We can know our motivation towards missions is indeed pure if we are seeking to reconcile men unto God in our daily lives (II Cor. 5:12-20). This can be just as great an adventure as hiking the Himalayans or penetrating a rain forest in Brazil for the gospel, as we battle fear, persecution, discouragement and apathy for the souls of men right here in our communities.
Then, we need to discover what our “Judea” is. This is an ‘unreached people’ in our own nation or culture. We believe God has called us to target the young adult population, both in college and in their early career stage (18-29). Here’s why we consider it a “mission” in our ‘Judea’:
Most churches have youth groups, but very few churches reach out to college students and young adults. One of the reasons is their parents don’t go to church. Therefore, no financial support! For this reason, it has to be seen as a mission outreach. What many Christian adults and churches don’t realize is the following disturbing statistic: 80 percent of high school students who were active in their Christian youth group do not continue to follow Christ when they leave high school! You don’t have to be a math major to see how quickly our entire national culture will drastically change if we don’t reverse these trends, and soon.
New Covenant Church’s ministry to college/young adults is Life Challenge. Life Challenge meets weekly here on the church campus, and in various fellowship events and Bible studies in the area. This ministry has reached and trained hundreds of young adults over the last few years.
We also support Campus Harvest. Campus Harvest is a Spirit-filled ministry that conducts large national conferences, regional evangelism training for students, and trains and releases full time campus workers (www.campusharvest.org). Campus Harvest has articulated a compelling statement that lists the reasons the Church must be involved today in reaching the college campus. Pastor Chuck serves in a leadership role in this national organization.
“Samaria” refers to a ‘minority’ in or near our culture. For us, that is Mexico. We send team regularly to Monterrey and Leon in Mexico, and support a couple that is planting churches in Leon, Mexico.
“End of the Earth”
Unfortunately, the vast majority of Christian resources go toward ministry to the already reached. Most Christians are called and thus best equipped to reach their own culture, in their own language. Nevertheless, when Jesus ascended into heaven, He clearly told His disciples to “Go into all the world, and make disciples of every nation.” The Church has spread into unreached areas around the world, in the last two thousand years, with the life giving hope found only in the gospel, because many have taken Jesus seriously in this area. New Covenant Church seeks to continue this glorious and noble tradition, where God directs us to have influence, preach the gospel, and make disciples. So, some are sent, and others are the senders (Rom. 10:14-15).
Missions starts in our own “Jerusalem”. We can know our motivation towards missions is indeed pure if we are seeking to reconcile men unto God in our daily lives (II Cor. 5:12-20). This can be just as great an adventure as hiking the Himalayans or penetrating a rain forest in Brazil for the gospel, as we battle fear, persecution, discouragement and apathy for the souls of men right here in our communities.
Then, we need to discover what our “Judea” is. This is an ‘unreached people’ in our own nation or culture. We believe God has called us to target the young adult population, both in college and in their early career stage (18-29). Here’s why we consider it a “mission” in our ‘Judea’:
Most churches have youth groups, but very few churches reach out to college students and young adults. One of the reasons is their parents don’t go to church. Therefore, no financial support! For this reason, it has to be seen as a mission outreach. What many Christian adults and churches don’t realize is the following disturbing statistic: 80 percent of high school students who were active in their Christian youth group do not continue to follow Christ when they leave high school! You don’t have to be a math major to see how quickly our entire national culture will drastically change if we don’t reverse these trends, and soon.
New Covenant Church’s ministry to college/young adults is Life Challenge. Life Challenge meets weekly here on the church campus, and in various fellowship events and Bible studies in the area. This ministry has reached and trained hundreds of young adults over the last few years.
We also support Campus Harvest. Campus Harvest is a Spirit-filled ministry that conducts large national conferences, regional evangelism training for students, and trains and releases full time campus workers (www.campusharvest.org). Campus Harvest has articulated a compelling statement that lists the reasons the Church must be involved today in reaching the college campus. Pastor Chuck serves in a leadership role in this national organization.
“Samaria” refers to a ‘minority’ in or near our culture. For us, that is Mexico. We send team regularly to Monterrey and Leon in Mexico, and support a couple that is planting churches in Leon, Mexico.
“End of the Earth”
Unfortunately, the vast majority of Christian resources go toward ministry to the already reached. Most Christians are called and thus best equipped to reach their own culture, in their own language. Nevertheless, when Jesus ascended into heaven, He clearly told His disciples to “Go into all the world, and make disciples of every nation.” The Church has spread into unreached areas around the world, in the last two thousand years, with the life giving hope found only in the gospel, because many have taken Jesus seriously in this area. New Covenant Church seeks to continue this glorious and noble tradition, where God directs us to have influence, preach the gospel, and make disciples. So, some are sent, and others are the senders (Rom. 10:14-15).
