The world in which we live, is created good by a loving God (Genesis 1:31). However, due to sin, human beings are alienated from God and from each other. This alienation is implicit in what it means to be human. As Paul makes clear in his letter to the Romans, none are immune to it and all people are captive to it (Romans 3:23). This sin is found in life individually as people live in isolation from each other, in systemic and institutional ways when things such as race and economic class divide people from people, and in a loss of intimacy and even awareness of God who is present and at work around us.

In spite of this, God has not abandoned us but continues to move creation toward the Reign of God. God has stayed the course and remained committed to the reconciliation of all living things with God and with each other. In doing this, God has become one with creation through the incarnation in Jesus Christ (John 1:14). Suffering rejection and death on a cross as a consequence of ushering in the reign of God, Jesus Christ was raised from the dead to declare God’s solidarity and love for the world – a solidarity that even death would not threaten. The risen Jesus Christ continues to reign through the sending of the Holy Spirit, granting faith and gathering the church to be the body of Christ (Acts 2:1-4; 43-47).

Therefore, in Jesus Christ the Reign of God has broken in to the world in which we live (Mark 1:15). Through the sending of the Holy Spirit, Jesus continues to be present and at work in the world, encountering people in their lives and gifting them with faith. Through the Spirit, disciples are charged with God’s reconciling power (John 20:23), with gifts of the Spirit (Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12), and sending them forth as ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:16-21) and witnesses for Christ to the world (Acts 1:8). The call to follow Jesus is a personal call issued to each person as a call to take up the cross and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23-26).

People of faith are gathered into church and united by the Spirit to be Christ’s body (Ephesians 4:1-6). The church serves as the hands and mouth for God, proclaiming God’s Word and doing God’s work. Members of the church are called to be disciples of Jesus, devoting their personal and corporate lives to doing his work (both in the church and in the world) and pointing people to the Reign of God which is unfolding in our midst. The call to follow Jesus is a corporate one, issuing forth in community and resulting in a faith life that can only be fulfilled as Christ draws all people to him and thus to each other (John 12:32).

God continues to be on the move, reconciling, saving and bringing in God’s reign. In this God engages the world in all of its aspects. God can and does work in a wide variety of ways, both inside and out of the church. However, God continues to manifest the presence of the risen Christ in the church in order to reconcile the world and usher in the coming Reign of God. Celebrated in the Word and Sacraments, this presence of Christ is a continual promise from God that is granted in baptism (Romans 6:5), shared in community (Matthew 18:20), and lived out in mission (Matthew 28:20). When God’s rule is complete both love and justice will be fulfilled and the alienation of humankind with itself and with God will be reconciled forever.

Loved by God in Jesus Christ, called and empowered by the Spirit to love God and neighbor, this church is sent to the world to proclaim the good news and call people to saving faith in Jesus Christ (Mark 16:15). As such, it is an apostolic witness to the risen Christ who dwells within it and works through it. As Christ’s witnesses to the ends of the earth, the church is sent out to declare what God is doing in Jesus Christ and to invite all people to faith in Christ and to become his followers and disciples.

At the same time, the church continues to live in the reality of grace within a world of sin. The church is not immune to the power of sin. Throughout the ages, the church has been sidetracked from its purpose and turned in on itself. When this has happened the witness to Jesus Christ has been reduced or even corrupted. In such times the Holy Spirit has raised voices of renewal and reformation, refocusing the church on the gospel of Jesus Christ and re-energizing the church for the work for which it was formed. The Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission unit prays that it might be one such voice among many in the church, reminding the whole church of God’s mission for us, and then sent forth to lead the church in starting new ministries and renewing existing ones.

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