Building the Kingdom of God

Pastor Bayes sharing GNA's vision & mission. 
Sharing GNA Vision 

The mission of Good News Assembly (GNA) is to be a "Life Giving Church" to  Lovington, NM.

God places every Christian and every church within a community to be the salt and the light to the lost (Matthew 5.13-14).

There are three principles that will lead to and insure the will of God in our church.  We need to be aware of these when considering how we might reach our community.

 

First is what I call Up-reach. 

 

The Church’s task is to reproduce.  An organism reproduces after its own kind.  Dogs produce puppies and cats produce kittens.  A dog does not reproduce cats. 

 

The Church reproduces after its own kind.  A Church with dedicated disciples will reproduce dedicated disciples.  A Church with luke-warm Christians will produce more luke-warm Christians. We, the church, must become Christ-like so we will produce Christ-like Christians. 

 

Up-reach is discipleship.

 

We become Christ-like by reaching up to Him.  There are several important ways that we “reach up” toward God:

Our goal at Good News Assembly is to be a Life Giving Church.  Jesus came to give not only life, but abundant life (John 10.10).  We desire to create and sustain an atmosphere of worship and praise. A setting saturated with the prayer and the Word of God creates an environment where learning and growing will take place. 

 

Second is In-reach.

The purpose of the church is to bring people to knowledge of the Good News of Jesus Christ and to disciple them.  The church becomes a fertile place for spiritual growth by first reaching up to God, then secondly reaching in toward others and building godly, healthy relationships.  Mature Christians should reach out to less mature Christians. 

 

The church’s job is to take seekers from the community and incorporate them into the core of the church.  In-reach is where the core members reach out to the individuals within the church. 

 

In-reach is body ministry.

 

Third is Out-reach.

 

Out-reach is believers reaching out to unbelievers in the community.  Outreach is fulfilling the Great Commission by preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ.  This is the task of each Christian, not just for the professional clergy.  Out-reach focuses upon those outside of the church. The goal is for the “unbeliever “ to become a “believer”, and then for the believer to be discipled and ultimately to become involved in the process of in-reach and out-reach. 

 

Outreach is Evangelism.

 

The Task

 

Before Jesus went to be with the Father in heaven, he gave the final command to reach the world.  This is known as the great commission.

 

Matthew 28:18-20

18            And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

19            "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20            "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (NKJ)

 

Mark 16:15-20

15            And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

16            "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

17            "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;

18            "they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

19            So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

20            And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. (NKJ)

 

Acts 1:8

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnessses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (NKJ)

 

Christ’s instructions include:

 

This task falls upon the shoulders of His believers.  It is up to us to reach out to those who do not know Jesus personally. 

 

What is the Gospel?

 

1 Corinthians 15:1-5

 

1  Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,

2  by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you-- unless you believed in vain.

3  For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

4  and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

5  and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. (NKJ)

 

Why do we preach the gospel?

 

1 Pet 4:6

For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. (NKJ)

 

We preach the gospel of Jesus Christ out of obedience to the Great Commission.

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