Leaning Into Our Mission
By Keith Boyette

The mission of the Global Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ who worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly. Our mission is centered on Jesus. He is the head of the church. We are his servants, his followers, his disciples. All that we do is oriented toward him. Unless we advance the cause of Christ in the world, we are just another human institution destined for the waste bin of history. But if we are alive in Christ, if all that we do lifts Jesus high, if people enter into a life-changing relationship with Jesus, then we count for Christ and God can use us to advance his kingdom here on earth.
The GM Church is now six months old. We are leaning into the mission God has entrusted to us. We are committed to five missional priorities. As you read each priority, I challenge you to ask two questions: First, how am I personally engaging this missional priority? And two, how is the church I attend advancing our mission in this area?
First, we are a church that is committed to biblical teaching. God has made available to us his whole counsel in the words of Scripture. The primary task of our clergy and our lay leadership is to ensure that our people both know about and know God’s word as revealed in the Bible. Sermons are to be biblically grounded. Disciples of Jesus need to know the core beliefs of our faith. To that end, the GM Church has adopted a catechism setting forth what we believe about our faith. Persons who have professed their faith in Jesus and who are members of our congregations should be intimately committed to these core beliefs. Biblical principles must guide all our decisions. We have no other authority than that given to us by our Sovereign God.
Second, we wholeheartedly embrace transformational discipleship. We are intentional about making, developing, nurturing, and deploying disciples of Jesus Christ through small groups where each person is invited, challenged, supported, and held accountable in living lives that reflect the character and mission of Christ. Our goal is to have 100% participation in the small group ministries of each of our churches. We long to see each person increasingly reflect the mind and character of Jesus. The discipleship to which we are committed is both joyful and accountable. We believe Jesus is the Truth and as his disciples, we have a deep desire to know the truth, and to devote ourselves to it wholeheartedly. From its beginning, the Methodist movement embraced the importance and power of small groups where people lovingly urged one another to submit to Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Third, God calls us to multiplication. We are singularly focused on the spread of the kingdom of God. We are genuinely interested in those who do not have a life-giving relationship with Jesus discovering his great love for them. Fueled by Jesus’ love and forgiveness, every disciple should be making disciples of others. This is not the work of some. It is the calling of every disciple of Jesus. God majors in multiplication. We will equip disciples to make disciples who in turn make more disciples. We will plant churches that in turn plant new ones that in turn plant still more. Every one of us has a role in fulfilling this missional priority.
Fourth, the work God has entrusted to us is ministry to all people. We are called to serve others so they may know the grace and love of Jesus in their lives. We see the hurts that break the heart of God. Our hearts are broken too. We desire to be poured out so others can experience the presence and power of God in their lives. Each day we are to search for those who are lost, alienated from God, rejected by others, and isolated from community. Then we are to offer them our love and God’s love as we share with them God’s design for a life that flourishes. We have a ministry of reconciliation. With all humility, we join God in his work of redemption and restoration.
Finally, we are engaging global partnerships. We are a global church recognizing and deploying the gifts and contributions of each part of the church, working as partners in the Gospel with equal voice and leadership. We are intentionally connecting churches from different regions of the world who develop mutually rewarding relationships to share the Gospel and to grow God’s kingdom globally. Our approach to global partnerships is personal, not institutional. We long to see every church intimately connected to at least one other church elsewhere in the world so that we develop deep personal relationships, learn from being followers of Christ in different cultures, and share in one another’s ministries, supporting one another in prayer, and combining the gifts entrusted to us by God as we watch God use ordinary people to do his extraordinary work.
These five missional priorities define the Global Methodist Church. We do not exist to be an institution. We exist to be the body of Christ poured out even as Jesus sacrificially gave of himself so that we might have life in all its fullness.
Let’s pray for one another and spur one another on to more faithful lives spent for the cause of Jesus alone.
You can learn more about the Global Methodist Church by exploring its website.
The Rev. Keith Boyette is the Transitional Connectional Officer of the Global Methodist Church, its chief executive and administrative officer.
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