M1 Mission 1:8

M1 (Here) Local Community

It is the task of every local church to reach out to the local community within its influence.  This is best done when the church has identified the specific people who live there and the task of reaching them is owned by specific people.  The task of reaching a community is less likely to happen when no one has a specific assignment.  The implication of this truth is that every disciple of Christ in the local church must be mobilized and equipped to take on the responsibility of reaching a specific people group in the community (a block, a school community, medical personnel at a specific hospital, classmates, those in the soccer club, etc.)

To reach every man, woman, and child, we need to live purposely and sacrificially to provide a witness of Jesus to those within our influence.  This will require living with a missionary spirit.  In most cases, in order for the entire community to have an opportunity to hear of Jesus through a personal relationship, it will require that like minded churches band together to identify and own specific assignments to live missionally.

An example of this is a small group near Hamilton NJ who had several children who were autistic.  They realized that they each had a network of people who also had autistic children and that a center for autistic children was a hub for such relationships.  They prayed and decided to live as missionaries (live missionally) to reach these families.  Recently there was a baptism where one of these families shared how they came to know of the love of Christ – through the loving relationships of this small group.

In the North East, fewer and fewer people will dare to go to church for answers to their problems.  We will have to go to them.  And this is our instructions from our Lord… “go into all the world”.  What if we took seriously the responsibility of bringing Jesus to every people group in our community and lived intentionally and sacrificially to love them and share our lives?

What is your strategic plan to reach your entire community?  A master plan for the church should address  M1, M2, and M3 as each church should be engaged in the ACTS 1:8 mission of Christ.