Going deeper... with a purpose
/We are not called to be with Jesus and to become like Jesus just for our own sakes, but so we can join in with Jesus’ work in the world, so we can do what Jesus did. We are made to take our part in the mission of God in the world, the building of his kingdom. There are two sides to our God-given purpose: loving service and sharing the good news of Jesus.
Loving service
We are called to be a people who love their neighbours. This love is not simply an emotional love but a deeply practical love. The type of love which we are to have for others, both inside and outside the church, is the love that Jesus showed for us as he died on the cross. This love is about self-sacrifical service - about putting other people’s needs before our own, about compassion and generousity. Followers of Jesus do what Jesus did, they get their hands dirty dealing with the needs they see around them in the world.
Our service might be serving the church community, it might be serving our community as part of the church, with a Christian charity or with another organisation. However, in most cases we do not serve as part of an organisation but rather as a person or family responding to the needs of those we know around us - our neighbours, friends and family members. Often this is as simple as baking a cake or babysitting.
We offer free one-to-one sessions to help you to explore how you might deepen your relationship with Jesus, particularly looking at the area of service. Over two sessions, a trained advisor will help you develop a “Personal Discipleship Plan”. These plans are a way to help you think through what the next stages in your walk with Jesus might be and how God has gifted you to serve him. If you are interested, please contact Judy Marshall (judy@coggesparish.com).
We have links with local organisations such as A+, Besom, CAP and others who would be happy to hear from you if you want to join in serving with them.
Sharing the good news
Jesus gave the church a mission when he left this world: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:19-20). As a church and as individual Christians our primary mission is to help others find the good news of Jesus and the love of God. To be able to do this we need to be sure ourselves of what is the heart of our faith, that’s why the Alpha course is great for all of us to help us be clear in what we believe.
Everyone needs to hear about Jesus’ death where he won for us forgiveness from all our wrongdoing and his resurrection through which we can find wonderful new life. As well as speaking of Jesus we can also witness to Jesus through the fact that we are becoming like Jesus and doing the things he did. LICC have many practical resources helping us to share Jesus in every part of our life. They suggest six ways we can draw people to Jesus…
We can model godly character as we become like Jesus
We can do our work well, as Jesus would do it
We can bless others by serving them in grace and love
We can seek to transform the culture of the places we live and work
We can speak up for truth and justice
We can tell people the good news about Jesus.
You might also like to look at our own Missional Communities pages. There are ideas and thinking for mission there which you might like to try out in your own lives, your family’s life or your small group (particularly in the third talk).