Our Mission Statement and What It Means...

Pretty simple, really ... but those twelve words actually say a LOT...

Let's explain it this way...

We've all heard the statements before:
- "If you shoot for nothing, you'll hit it every time."
- "If you don't know where you're going, then it won't matter what road you choose."
- "Dream the dream, plan the work, work the plan."

Well, we KNOW where we're headed, we KNOW what God wants us to, and we're COMMITTED to carrying out His mission through us.

In its simplest form, we believe God has FIVE PRIMARY PURPOSES for every church:
- Worship
- Evangelism
- Discipleship
- Fellowship
- Missions

Therefore, we believe our purpose, our mission, can be summarized as... CONNECTING WITH GOD, WHILE CONNECTING WITH OTHERS, AND HELPING PEOPLE IN NEED.

HERE'S HOW THAT STATEMENT UNFOLDS...

Connecting with God...

<> We believe that connecting with God is our first and primary purpose, which is what WORSHIP is all about ...
- We understand that we were created for the very purpose of enjoying a personal relationship with God, and that we enter into that relationship when we acknowledge our need for God, our need for forgiveness provided only through accepting Jesus by faith as our personal Savior and Lord.
- And we acknowledge that God deserves and desires our worship...
  - Coming into His presence through praise with humility, reverence with celebration, and acknowledging we were created for the very purpose of having fellowship / enjoying a personal relationship with God.
- It's why we understand the need for us to engage in personal and private devotion and worship of the Lord.
- It's also why we unashamedly gather to worship alongside others ... publicly and openly.
  - It's not about style, we don't worship a style...we worship the Savior.
  - We do, however, acknowledge that God created us with unique personalities, and individual preferences and comfortableness in expressing our worship.
    - So, we offer an opportunity for hymn-singing and more traditional expressions of worship on Sunday mornings, and a more upbeat, contemporary style of worship on Sunday evenings.
    - We also provide and encourage participation in various times of worship as part of the various age group ministries ... Children's Church for boys and girls, youth / collegiate opportunities, senior adult worship gatherings, concerts, etc.

<> But we also know that God has commissioned us to spread the good news of the Gospel to help every person on earth learn how he/she can also connect with God... also God's purpose for us: EVANGELISM.
- It's why we deliberately go into our neighborhood and talk to people about the joy and opportunity to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus ... not as professional evangelists, but as "satisfied customers."
- It's why we unashamedly explain the basics of the gospel in every worship service.
- It's why we offer an invitation, sometimes public, sometimes through following up with a person's desire that we pray with them about how they can receive Jesus by faith.
- And it's why we refuse to fall into the trap of being "comfortable" and "in-house-only" in our focus ... keeping in mind the mission God has commissioned us to...to spread His message, to reach the entire world with the good news message of salvation and forgiveness of sin.

while connecting with others...

<> We know that God has put believers together in what is called "the church" for the additional purpose of DISCIPLESHIP ...
- It's why we deliberately engage in the personal study of God's Word, the Bible.
- But it's also why we gather together to let God speak to us through the experiences and acquired knowledge He has given to other believers.
  - So we "connect with others" in order to grow and in order to help others grow from what God has shown us.

<> And we understand that "connecting with others" is how God accomplishes through us the additional purpose of FELLOWSHIP.
- We believe fellowship is best understood as "two fellows in the same ship."
- In other words, we choose to deliberately connect with other believers in order to provide and receive encouragement.
- And, we unashamedly enjoy the fun of living life in social relationships that honor God...
  - Through Godly marriages, celebrating the intimacy God affords loving, committed Christian couples and families.
  - Through relationships with other Christians, sharing common experiences, and just having fun together ... good, clean, God-ordained and God-directed fun.
- So, we unashamedly and enthusiastically enjoy getting together to laugh together, share a meal together, engage in social activities like parties, movies, playing games, and all the wonderful "perks" of sharing a common faith and a common journey with other believers, the journey of life.

helping people in need.

<> Finally, we are committed to being people of compassion, who respond to people in need, assisting them in every way possible. That's why our final purpose is that of MISSIONS.
- We know that missions can, in its simplest form, be understood as simply giving a thirsty man a cool drink of water.
  - It's about helping people with tangible needs ... lending a helping hand during a time when help is needed.
- It's why we deliberately help folks with benevolence needs, whether they are member of Sunrise Mountain Baptist Church or not.
- It's why we assist in stocking the shelves of local food banks or serving in the serving lines of local soup kitchens.
- It's why we give away the first 11% of every dollar given through the church's ministries...
  - To help in supporting over 1,000 Southern Baptist missionaries world-wide, as well as numerous hospitals, clinics, schools, crisis pregnancy centers, and counseling centers.
  - It's why we send funds and personally serve on Disaster Relief Teams to assist persons all over the world as they experience tragedies such as earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, or other traumatic events.
- And it's why we're always looking around to see if there are other needs we can assist in helping to meet.

So, we hope it is clear now as to WHY we've chosen the mission statement we've chosen...

When we understand that our 5 over-all purposes are Worship, Evangelism, Discipleship, Fellowship and Missions, we believe a concise summary of what we're to be "on mission" to accomplish is...
- YOU'RE INVITED TO COME AND HELP US CARRY OUT THE MISSION ... for God's glory.

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