There is Church Because There is Mission
God is a missionary God. There is church because there is mission, not vice
versa. Outreach, the mission of the church, is an attribute of God. People do need
the truth and we do have it, but we must earn the right to share it with people
who need it. This will require shifting our efforts from growing churches to
transforming communities.
Ellen White said, “Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The
Savior mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them,
ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, ‘Follow Me.’” (MH
143)
Jesus gave Himself away to the poor, the sick, the unclean, the disadvantaged and
disenfranchised people. The Kingdom of God was expanding to places, people, and cultures that
the Pharisees had never considered.
Service is not optional in Christianity. We were created and saved to serve, called and
commended to serve God and His children. Do you find yourself helping people? Turning lives
around? Making positive changes in the community? Or do we spend most of our time
maximizing our pleasure and minimizing our pain? “God does both the making and saving. He
creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten
ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.” (Eph. 2:10, MSG).
We must create a mission-oriented culture in all of our churches, schools and hospitals. As
change makers and Christians, we need to create venues where people can practice being
missionaries in everyday life.
Anyone with interests in community outreach can visit http://www.communityservices.org
to learn of ways to help the community.
by Sung Kwon, National Executive Director, Adventist Community Services
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Latest news going on at Ridge Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Adventists monitoring possible Sunday business-closing law in Europe
Seventh-day Adventist religious liberty proponents are monitoring a proposal from a European Parliament member who wants businesses in Europe to close their doors on Sundays.
Parliament member Martin Kastler of Germany is urging for the passage of continent-wide laws similar to those of his home country, which encourage employees to take a day off work to be with their families, the New York Times reported.
Though parliamentary rules bar most members, including Kastler, from introducing legislation, a recently enacted citizens petition function would require the 736-member body to draw up such legislation if supporters raise 1 million signatures from across member countries, the Times reported.
While many Adventists in Europe now live and worship in countries with similar laws, the church has traditionally opposed such laws, citing possible religious discrimination.
“We agree that people need a day of rest, but we want to be sure those who don’t have Sunday as a designated religious day of rest will be respected and accommodated,” said John Graz, Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL) director for the Adventist world church and secretary-general of the International Religious Liberty Association.
“We hope that those behind the proposal will understand the pluralistic dimensions of European society today and the importance of respecting different religious beliefs,” he said.
Church officials in the denomination’s Switzerland-based Euro-Africa Division said they are monitoring the situation. This autumn they plan to hold consultations with local leadership regarding a possible response to any progress on Kastler’s initiative.
“If [it] was just this question of shops opening on Sunday, our members would not see it as a problem,” said Karel Nowak, PARL director for the church in Euro-Africa. “This is [already] the current situation in many West- and Central-European countries.”
Nowak’s key concern is the possible arguments supporting the initiative. He said some people want to “strengthen ‘traditional European values,’ meaning ‘traditional Christian’ values and lifestyle.”
“In my opinion this development is concerning and could lead to escalation of tension among different groups,” Nowak said.
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Latest news going on at Ridge Seventh-day Adventist Church.
