"To make fully functioning followers of Jesus by ministering the Word of God as empowered by the Holy Spirit in the context of community."

Explanation of Our Mission Statement: A mission statement is a brief description of what we aim to do and how we are trying to do it. Our mission has been derived from the Great Commission in Matt. 28, where Jesus says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Jesus calls his people to make disciples; we call a "disciple" a "fully functioning follower of Jesus." Fully functioning followers of Jesus are people who are in relationship with Jesus, are following his teaching, and functioning in the fullness of their capacity to live for him. Being a fully functioning follower of Jesus includes the following:

• Growing in love for God and becoming more like Jesus
• Growing in love for other people and cultivating healthy relationships with others
• Increasing in the knowledge of the Scriptures and regularly applying them
• Regularly hearing God's voice and learning to hear it better
• Regularly involved in evangelism and supporting missions
• Developing and utilizing spiritual gifts in the service of Jesus and his church

Being a fully functioning follower of Jesus is more than the above spiritually-oriented things. It is also growing as a person in skills and abilities. It may be learning how to drive a car. It may be going back to a technical college to get a degree in order to get a better job. Being a fully functioning follower of Jesus includes being all that we can be in all areas of our lives.

Another characteristic of a fully functioning follower of Jesus is someone who is moving toward wholeness. This is expressed in the Hebrew word used in the Old Testament, "shalom." In Numbers 6:26 the High Priest was commanded by God to pronounce the blessing of "shalom" (or peace) upon the people. To have shalom means to have wholeness, wellness, wellbeing, health, harmonious relationships, peace of mind, prosperity. Shalom is basically all the blessings of life that one can have. This is also what we mean by a "fully functioning follower of Jesus" — it is someone who has shalom.

A New Testament word which expresses a similar concept to this Old Testament word shalom is the Greek word "teleios," which is sometimes translated "complete." This can be seen when Paul speaks of his ministry in general terms as laboring to present every man complete in Christ (Colossian 1:28). That Greek word for "complete" is "teleios," which here means mature, fully developed, whole. This is also what it means to be a fully functioning follower of Jesus. This is the first part of our mission. This is what we aim to do: To make fully functioning followers of Jesus. We are to do this not only among ourselves, but also go out into our community to reach lost people and help them to become fully functioning followers of Jesus.

The second part of our mission statement expresses how we are trying to accomplish our mission. It is by utilizing the three means of God's grace.

The three means of God's grace are:

• the Word of God
• the Spirit of God
• the People of God

All of the ministry of the church can be fit into one of these three means of God's grace. The three means of God's grace are not meant to limit our understanding of God's gracious work, but merely function as a paradigm for how to view God's work. All of God's work can be put into one of these three categories. For example, the means of grace of the Word of God includes not only Scripture, but any information that helps us to grow spiritually. Another example of the means of grace of the Word of God is the Lord's Supper, which is a "visible word." The means of grace of the Spirit of God is his direct intervention in our lives when we experience his presence, power, love, healing, or hear his voice. The means of God's grace of the people of God occurs in open, honest relationships where we give love to others and receive love from them.

The three means of God's grace can be seen in our mission statement: "To make fully functioning followers of Jesus by ministering the Word of God (that's the means of grace of the Word of God) as empowered by the Holy Spirit (that's the means of grace of the Spirit of God) in the context of community (that's the means of grace of the people of God)."

Just like the first part of our mission statement can be derived from the Great Commission, the three means of God's grace can also be found in the Great Commission.

• Word of God
  The first means of God's grace is the Word of God. This is seen in the Great Commission where Jesus says, that we are to make disciples of all nations and teach them to observe (or obey) all that Jesus has commanded. All that Jesus commanded is contained in the Bible. The Bible, the Word of God, is one of God's means of grace for our lives.
  
• Spirit of God
  In addition to the Word of God, the second means of God's grace is the Spirit of God. This is why our mission statement says that we are to make fully functioning followers of Jesus by ministering the Word of God as empowered by the Holy Spirit. The means of God's grace of the Spirit of God can be seen in that part of the Great Commission where Jesus says, "lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Jesus' very presence is with us through the person of the Holy Spirit who works among us. The Spirit's work in our lives comes by prayer, by being filled with the Holy Spirit, by the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit, and other ways.
  
• People of God
  In addition to the means of grace of the Word of God and the Spirit of God, there is the last, but not least means of God's grace: the People of God. We make fully functioning followers of Jesus by ministering the Word of God as empowered by the Holy Spirit in the context of community. The context of community is where God uses the people of God to help other people grow. The means of grace of the people of God can be seen in Jesus' words of the Great Commission: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations." When one of the first disciples of Jesus heard Jesus say this to him he would have understood Jesus to be telling him to make a person into someone like himself. That is, to make a person into someone who had a relationship with Jesus and followed Jesus in the context of a community of believers. The disciples lived with Jesus; they all hung out together; they shared their lives together. They opened their hearts to each other; this is what it meant to be a disciple. It wasn't just being an individual follower of Jesus. When we are in these kinds of close relationships, we can carry out the "one-another" verses in the New Testament such as love one another, encourage one another daily, rebuke one another, stimulate one another to love and good deeds, speak the truth in love to one another, confess your sins to one another, etc.

Wellspring Community Church provides a number of ways to receive these means of God's grace.

For the Word of God, there is the preaching of the Word on Sunday mornings and sermon notes for the congregation to study and pray about application. There is also Sunday School and Small Groups where the Word of God is taught.

For the Spirit of God, there are opportunities for prayer after the Sunday service. We have prayer during Small group. We have a worship time during the Sunday Service where people have an opportunity to connect with God and receive from him. We have prayer meetings on Weekday evenings and Sunday mornings.

For the People of God, we have Small Group, mentoring, and fellowship opportunities.

This is where God is taking us as a church. We are not just going to be a Bible church...learn, learn, learn. We are not just going to be a Spirit-filled church...experience, experience, experience. We are not just going to be a community church...fellowship, fellowship, fellowship.

God wants us to have a balance of all three — deep into the Scriptures, mining its treasures and applying them. Powerfully experiencing God, hearing his voice, experiencing his healing power, etc. And deeply experiencing relationship with other people-connecting with others in deep ways, giving and receiving loving input from others that enables life change. Our goal is for each person to be drawing from each of the three means of God's grace in order to increasingly become a fully functioning follower of Jesus.