Purpose Mission & Vision Statement
Purpose:
That the nations God has brought to America may see the light of Christ
in the lives of actively sharing Christians, come to Christ, and together grow in Him.
Vision:
Seeing churches and Christian fellowships grow in missionary love as they reach out
to internationals and immigrants in practical, meaningful ways with the Gospel of Christ, and
seeing internationals come to Christ and reproduce here and in their home country.
Mission:
1. Sharing the Vision of intentional outreach to the international community in churches and Christian groups
throughout Lancaster County and beyond.
2. Empowering and equipping Christians to be able to reach out sensitively and effectively through friendships,
ESL (English as a Second Language), international fellowships, and offering needed help.
3. Networking with immigrant agencies, refugee services, foreign companies, international student offices... to a
ssess needs and demographics of internationals
4. Helping coordinate cross-church and ministry efforts as well as assisting teams within churches in befriending
and aiding international student, refugee, temporary resident, and immigrant populations.
5. Motivating church-wide prayer for the nations [e.g., in Concerts of Prayer (http://proclaimhope.gospelcom.net/),
prayer/food/fun gatherings with ethnic churches & a Mission Fest – mission to int'ls here]
6. Synergizing with church mission programs to provide training of missionaries-to-be through reaching out to
internationals in their midst and employing missionaries on home assignment to reach out.
7. Full-cycle evangelism, ministering to internationals so they come to a knowledge of salvation in Christ and are
equipped to reproduce the life of Christ in others either here or abroad.
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Core Value Pictures: SOLD-OUT, SYNERGISTIC SERVANTS
1. SOLD-OUT: Wholehearted commitment to God's Word as revealed and fulfilled through Jesus Christ, obedience
to the Great Commandments & Commission, and empowerment with guidance by the Holy Spirit. Seeking Pure
Hearts & Motives as we follow the call dear to God to present the Gospel that all may be saved. (Notes: Love the
Lord your God [wholeheartedly], Love your neighbor as yourself [in Good Samaritan Parable and Leviticus 19:34 we
see this means foreigners too!], Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. [Mark 16:15, Matt 18:19],
and Romans 10:14-15 makes it clear God's method for the nations to hear is for us to share across with all across
cultures.)
2. SYNERGISTIC – Seeking to purposefully cooperate with area churches and ministries in following the Great
Commission and Commandments, using the gifts of the Body wisely and promoting unity to multiply effectiveness.
Encouraging mutual prayer for the nations and a missionary spirit to develop among more Christians here.
3. SERVANTS: Humility to develop sensitivity to the variety of cultural norms and ideas along with an ability to
discern what things are just good but different from our culture versus not Biblical or questionable. Flexibility to
adjust to situations that may not be common in our society and to show grace in the process. Forgiving each other
openly, not dwelling on past wrongs but seeking openly to encourage one another.
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Theme Scripture: Leviticus 19:34 "Foreigners living among you will be like your own people.
Love them as you love yourself" (GWT God's Word Translation)
UNDERGIRDING PASSAGES: INTERNATIONALS NEED THE GOSPEL: ROMANS 10:13
(NIV) for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 14 How, then, can they call
on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not
heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach
unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
GOD'S SPIRIT DESIRES THAT ALL NATIONS HEAR IN ANY PLACE: ACTS 2:4 All of them
were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.
6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one
heard their own language being spoken. [So God arranges both that people from overseas come
and hear the Gospel as well as that Christians are sent. Hence all parts of the body are included
in reaching the nations in Jesus Acts 1:8 command: "But
you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you; and you will
be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the
ends of the earth."]
THE END RESULT WHEN "FOREIGNERS" COME TO CHRIST: EPHESIANS 2:7 [Jesus]
came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were
near.
18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19 Consequently,
you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with
God's people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
Revelations 7:9 After
this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one
could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing
before the throne and in
front of the Lamb. They were wearing white
robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
10 And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and
to the Lamb." [God gets the praise that He deserves!]
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