The aim behind this series is to drill down a bit on our mission as a slice of the Kingdom of God known as a church called Elements.

Mission statement:
Elements City Church is an inviting community of Jesus followers, commissioned by the gospel to make disciples by cultivating relationships that reflect the love of Christ.

We are one church within the global Church that Jesus established and launched that has a mission of making God known and brining His good into the world. The Church has 5 key pillars or purposes that flow from the Great Commandment and Great Commission given us by Jesus (see Matthew 22:34-40 and 28:18-20):
- Fellowship
- Worship
- Serving
- Discipleship
- Evangelism

Truth:
“What we care about - we share about”

Some of the first words from the resurrected Christ, was a commissioning of his followers to go and share the news of the resurrected Christ. That God has made a way for people to be set into right relationship with God through faith in Jesus. The forgiveness of sins and the restoration of relationship with God.

Acts 1:8,
"You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

You don't have to defend God. You don't have to be a salesman for God.
All God wants you to do is be a witness.

Apostle John reminds us that our ultimate calling is not to be experts, but witnesses.

We are to be an Authentic Witnesses

1 John 1:1-3
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

“what he have heard, what we have seen, what we have touched.”

John repeats those statements several times because he knows that people listen to authentic witnesses over detached ideas.

1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…

The life of REACHING OUT isn’t about trying to convince people, convict people, or coerce people. It’s really just about trying to CONNECT with others - to include others. As a church we talk about “being people who cultivate relationships with the love of Christ!”

Quote:
“We have often dismissed Jesus’ command to love as cliche, but 1 Corinthians 13 could not be more clear: if we do not get love right, nothing else matters. Yet instead of focusing on love, we keep seeking a more sophisticated influence strategy…Our influence will actually be determined by the level of our self-sacrificing commitment to our neighbors…”
-Jon Tyson (Book: A Creative Minority)

The gospel in a nutshell - 1 verse

John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever would believe in him, would not perish, but have everlasting life."

God loved, so God gave
If you believe, you can receive

(also see Romans 10:8-11)

DIVINE ENCOUNTERS
(read Acts 8:26-40)

Interruptions and intentional actions are both essential to divine encounters. Philip allowed God to interrupt his plans and then he took intentional steps of obedience. Hear and Obey God and his nudges.

QUOTE:
“When we pray for divine encounters, we're inviting God to orchestrate moments where his love and truth intersect with the lives of those we encounter.” —Francis Chan

Stat:
82% of people would come to church if invited.
Only 2% of Christians invite their friends.

(1:1:1 initiative)
Each one - reach one - each year
We live on mission — that the church exists for it’s non-members.

John 20:21, Jesus said, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

Remember:
…evangelism has more to do with helping people move in the direction of Christ and not necessarily limited to those that ‘pray’ a prayer…

Cultivate relationships with the love of Christ

“What we care about, we share about”

Aren't you glad you came to church tonight?!

We love gathering together to lift up the name of Jesus over every other name, setting our eyes on what matters most before we step out into the busy week ahead.

Next weekend is Serve Weekend --

Remember: We will not be meeting in person on Sunday, February 9th. Join us for an online service posted to our YouTube channel that day. And serve with us that weekend.
We're back to normal Sunday February 16th @ 5pm for service.