Churchwide Updates: Why Does Mountain Brook Baptist Church Exist?
| Churchwide Updates | Dr. Wayne Splawn
Why does Mountain Brook Baptist Church exist? How would you answer this question? For many years, our motto has been, “Love God. Live with Grace and Generosity.” This is a good aspirational goal, but I have long felt it falls short of a mission statement that clarifies the purpose for which our church exists.
After wrestling with the question, “Why does our church exist?” and through many conversations with other church staff members and lay leaders, we have landed on the following vision statement:
Vision: Mountain Brook Baptist Church exists to help people experience eternal and abundant life in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
This statement reminds us that we are called to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and invite people to repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus that they might experience eternal life. We commonly refer to this as evangelism. The statement also reminds us that the gospel of Jesus Christ has implications for every aspect of our earthly lives. Learning to grow in faithfulness to Jesus’ teaching is called discipleship.
As a church, we are called to these two core purposes. How do we pursue this vision?
By living out the two great commandments of loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and loving our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). In other words, our mission is to love God, love one another, and love the world.
Mission: Love God, Love One Another, Love the World
I hope you will join us for worship this Sunday as we launch a new season in the life of our church, as we think together about how God has called us to help people experience eternal and abundant life in Jesus Christ, our Lord, by helping them love God, one another, and the world!