Go therefore and make disciples of all nations . . .
After our Lord Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, and as he was preparing to ascend to the Father, he gathered his disciples together to give them his mission for the church:
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. ––Matthew 28:18-20
In short, the church's primary mission is to proclaim the wonderful news of what God has done for us through His son Jesus Christ and to teach his followers what this news means for their daily lives. This is our mission.
Whenever a person hears this gospel ("good news") with the ears of his heart, the result is always the same: the Holy Spirit will take residence in his heart and become a "river of living water" (John 7:38), flowing outward in acts of charity. Charity is simply love-in-action, and as the love of God is poured into a believer's heart, that same love will overflow in ministry to those in need (be those needs spiritual or physical). In the church, we refer to this charity as outreach.
Since our ability to reach out in love and concern for others flows out of our gospel mission, we seek to partner with organizations where mission and outreach go hand-in-hand. Water Mission is a perfect example of this virtuous partnership between mission and outreach: Water Mission brings both clean drinking water as well as the living water of the Gospel of Jesus Christ wherever they go: outreach and mission, working together, to bless the world.
At St. Philip's, our mission and outreach are divided into Home Missions (domestic mission & outreach) and World Missions (international mission & outreach). We invite you to learn more using the links below.