A Christ-Centered Missional Community Ryan McAdams

"Agape Mission Church is a Christ-centered missional community devoted to a lifestyle of prayer and worship, learning and discipleship, authentic relationships and gospel outreach." "Christ-centered" - This ministry has a central focus - the person of Jesus Christ. Following Jesus and helping others on their journey to follow Him is our goal. We are not primarily looking to grow the church's numbers or influence, but to grow Christ's influence in the lives of believers and to see a community of mature sons and daughters. We want to see men and women raised up who are passionate about Jesus and who are living lives that are faithful, fruitful and fulfilling. We believe that encountering Christ and experiencing His great love in deepening measures will not only change us, but also our city and bring glory to Jesus and pleasure to our Father in heaven! The most challenging thing we can do is to take serious the call to be a mature disciple and follow the Lamb. Jesus wants to travel into every area and transform everything - and in this transfiguration into the image of Christ we find real life, joy, and liberty...the fruit that lasts and endures. So, we want to forge a simple and undistracted approach that sees the Agape community becoming like a greenhouse where the First Commandment, Second Commandment and Great Commission can flourish and grow in our lives. "Missional" - Too often today our idea of missions is of Kingdom work that is done in faraway places, and that a missionary is a select person called to go to those faraway places for ministry. The false assumption is that the mission of God isn't happening here in our own neighborhood or city...but the reality of God's mission in the earth is that it is not just across the globe, but also across the street. God has a mission here in Williamsburg that He is calling us, His people, to get in touch with and accomplish - that is just as valid and significant, and in fact, just as challenging as anything that is going on in the nations abroad. Everyone one of us is called to play a significant role to advance God's Kingdom and missional purpose here in Williamsburg. We are all called by the Father to be sent out to embody and express Jesus Christ to this community in practical, tangible and powerful ways. Every one of us is called to ministry with a unique God-given purpose. So, when we say we are "missional" we are stating that we are a community committed and devoted to advancing and participating in the mission of God here and now. So as a community we are mobilizing and actively giving ourselves to strategic missions as the Spirit leads here, in our state, in our nation and in the earth. "Community" - We are a family. Agape is not institutionally based on individuals gathering to fulfill some religious obligation that results in superficiality. We want to go deep and enjoy the richness of real friendship and authentic relationships. "Community" speaks of intimacy, interconnectedness, mutual participation and fellowship. It is a long journey to God, and the Lord has created the Body of Christ for mutual support, care and encouragement... and our relationships themselves become the primary vehicle of our growth in love, humility, grace and service. Through a community of expanded hearts, filled with the love and compassion of Christ, God pours out His love through us toward one another in practical ways - as the First Commandment flows into the Second. God makes it clear that our level of maturity is not measured subjectively, but by God's loving care pouring through us to our brothers and sisters. "If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is made mature in us" (1 John 4:12). We are not program or event centered - our vision is to build lifestyles. We believe the reality we are talking about only comes out of devoting ourselves to live intentionally - to give ourselves to biblical values and a way of living that will progressively form us into the fruitful and fulfilling lives God yearns for us to experience. Our vision statement says it this way: "Agape Mission Church is a Christ-centered missional community devoted to a lifestyle of prayer and worship, learning and discipleship, authentic relationships and gospel outreach." "Prayer and Worship - "My house shall be called a house of prayer" (Mk 11:17). Jesus makes it clear that the Body of Christ is not be a place of religious transaction, but a place of prayer, intimacy and relational encounter with the Trinity. The Lord's purpose and desire is to dwell in us individually and to corporately come and manifest His fullness and glory in our midst (Eph 4:13-16). We want to be a habitation of His presence and a place where 1 A Christ-Centered Missional Community Ryan McAdams the Lord will feel comfortable to rest and abide with us. This requires intentionality and the giving of ourselves - to be a praying people, a worshipping people, and a holy and devoted people. Our vision is to create a culture of extravagant worship and prayer, and to help equip believers and families to enjoy seeking God with whole hearts. "Learning and Discipleship" - Our journey is to learn Christ (Eph 4:20) not merely information or doctrine or a worldview - but the Living Word Himself. We are learning to put off the old self and to put on Christ - to die to our selfish ways and the world, and to renew ourselves in the image of the heavenly man Christ Jesus. This is the idea behind discipleship and following the Lord - that we are dying to something and living to something new...the new life in the ascended Christ. This journey into Christ-likeness takes a lifetime and beyond into eternity, but we see a community who is devoted to the process and actively pursuing the Lord together in love. Through spiritual mentoring, the ministry of the Word and practical equipping, we want to see believers established in their true identity in the grace of God that will create Spirit-empowered and faithful lifestyles. "Authentic Relationships" - We want to be intentional about spending time and opening up our lives to one another, enjoying genuine fellowship, friendship and accountability. If we want to really go somewhere together and in God It is not enough that we merely come to services. There is a balance and flow between focusing on our internal formation and loving devotion to God and moving out to love our brother and sister. "This commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also" (1 John 4:21). As we all know, this is challenging. With our busy schedules it is easy to stay disconnected and distant from one another, but God's love needs to find a way out and an external object of affection within the Body. We see a culture of growing relationships and family - where love, humility, forgiveness, hospitality, and grace are growing in all. "Gospel Outreach" - As we grow in love, the Lord compels us to act...as our love continues to move outward from the church into the city and beyond. The Lord moves us in compassion and with purpose to expand the circle and to grow the family of God. We have freely received, and He inspires us to freely give out to those in need - to the lost, the broken and the needy. It might be as simple as a smile or a kind word offered at the grocery store, a free lunch at the library, a heartfelt prayer or an encouraging word...but as a community we are committed to reach out and go out beyond our walls and make a difference and be the light and bring God's love. Conclusion - So we have this vision and these four ministry pillars or areas of focus, that God might form Christ in us and bring us into His fullness through His grace and love, and the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the Agape Mission...the Love Mission. The Lord has a lot that He wants to do, and there is surely a place for all of us to function and be a part. No matter where we are at in the process the Lord will get us to where we need to go, if we will simply have the faith to trust and the willingness to yield. We can be confident that He is going to do great and mighty things in these days, as we simply surrender ourselves to His loving hand and follow the Lamb wherever He may go.

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