Mission Statement      Our purpose for existing as a church is founded upon both the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. In Matthew 22, when the Pharisees saw that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, their best and brightest asked him the question, “What is the greatest commandment of all?” Jesus replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” As Jesus so poignantly stated, to love God and to love others is the greatest commandment. Love is not a warm fuzzy feeling that we have when we sit next to someone to whom we are attracted to, but love is a verb which requires action. This is most clearly seen in the example of Christ’s selfless sacrifice. In the book of Romans Paul said, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom.5:8). First, Christ showed love to the Father by obeying his will in going to the cross (note: Jn.14:15). Second, He showed love to his people through his selfless sacrifice. Therefore, as a church we are committed to loving God through active obedience and loving man by selflessly giving of ourselves.      Christ not only gave us a Great Commandment, but he gave us a Great Commission. This commission extends to each and every believer of all generations. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Although, there may seem to be four verbs in the English, in the Greek there is only one main verb. The main verb is “make disciples.” The other verbs (go, baptizing, and teaching) function as participles. A participle is a verbal adjective describing the how the action of the main verb is to take place. Therefore, as a church we are committed to fulfilling our commission to make disciples by engaging, establishing, and equipping people for Christ.