Redemption City Church exists to make disciples. Our mission is the same mission the crucified and risen, King Jesus gave his first followers: to make disciples. We know this because God’s authoritative Word tells us this in Matthew 28:18-20. He says, “18 Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Jesus’ command to make disciples comes with his authority and his presence. At Redemption City, we exist to make disciples because Jesus commanded us to make disciples.
And we believe that the bible says that a disciple should be marked by 5 core loves. The deepest core love is a love for Jesus as Savior, Lord, and Treasure. Out of this love, disciples also love the church, the world, serving, and multiplication.
The reason we emphasize love here is because the Bible does. Jesus summed up all of our requirements of the law using the word love. He says, He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” The Apostle Paul says good works without love amounts to nothing. He says, “If I speak human or angelic languages but do not have love, I am a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I donate all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body in order to boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.” So, the Apostle Paul concludes, “Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” A disciple’s life should be marked by love–we believe–five core loves.
1. Disciples love Jesus as Savior, Lord, and Treasure. We love him as Savior because through his gospel he saves us from the penalty and power of sin, delivering us to eternal life. We love him as Lord so we obey his word in all areas of life, because “he is Lord of all or he is not Lord at all.” We love him as Treasure because if he is not our greatest Treasure, he is not our Savior or Lord. This love is a worshipful love. Loving Jesus as Savior, Lord, and Treasure makes us free, purposeful, and satisfied. Everyone loves something supremely, but the only through the transformative work of the gospel—the good news about Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension that is received by faith—will we love Jesus like this. That’s why we put the gospel at the center of everything we do. At Redemption City, this love for Jesus is expressed at our weekly gathering as we praise Jesus, hear from Jesus’ word, pray to Jesus, and give of our finances to Jesus. This corporate gathering comes from the overflow of each members personal love for Jesus every day individually, seeing all of their lives as an expression of their love for Jesus.
2. Disciples love the church. Sure, the church isn’t perfect, but Jesus loves the church. That’s why he gave his life for her. Since the church is united to Christ by faith, our treatment of the church and Jesus is indistinguishable. When the Apostle Paul persecuted the church, Jesus asked him why he was persecuting him (Acts 9:4). Like Jesus, disciples love the church. At Redemption City, this love for the church is expressed primarily through the Redemption Groups that meet weekly in homes to hang out, get to know, encourage, challenge each other through God’s Word and practically caring for each other as life happens.
3. Disciples love the world. Jesus loved the world to death, and we want to do the same (John 3:16). Jesus didn’t stay out of our world, he stepped into all of the mess of our world, coming to where we were in order to bring us to God. We want to follow him. Sure, Jesus didn’t endorse worldliness, but he did love the world. And he showed his love in practical and eternal ways, healing sickness and giving eternal life. We want to do the same. We want to love the world where we live, work, and play, in such a way, that even if they don’t agree with what we believe, they are happy that we are here in this area. At Redemption City, this love for the world is expressed primarily through personal evangelism and service projects that Redemption Groups do several times a year on a local, national, and international level.
4. Disciples love serving. When you hit the big time in our culture, people serve you. In the kingdom of Christ, greatness is defined by serving. Jesus says, “The greatest among you will be your servant.” You can’t worship a God who got his hands dirty washing the crap off of his followers feet, without getting your hands dirty for others (John 13:1-17). Jesus considered others more important than himself and calls us to do the same. At Redemption City, this love for serving is expressed primarily through serving on a Ministry Team. Whether it is the Set-Up Team, Kid’s Team, Hospitality Team, or the Worship Team, all our teams serve so that others might know Jesus.
5. Disciples love multiplication. Jesus changed the world, not by political action, etc., but by discipling a few people. Jesus personally made disciples and personally asked all of us to make disciples. Jesus didn’t just teach people so they learned it, he taught them so they could teach others. Teach people not just so they learn, but so they’ll be able to teach others. When Jesus told his disciples to teach others everything that he commanded, this included the command to make disciples (Matt. 28:18-20). Although many people haven’t ever done this, we believe it should be a significant aspect of following Jesus. At Redemption City, this love for multiplication is expressed primarily through Multiplication Groups. These groups focus on a wide range of needed topics and are one-on-one or one-on-few. Each Multiplication Group is relational, intentional, and reproducible. Members attend a Multiplication Group with the intention of growing and then leading other people in that same Multiplication Group material.
By the grace of God, with the gospel of Christ and the power of the Spirit, we are giving our lives to building a city where every citizen—every disciple—loves Jesus, the church, the world, serving, and multiplication. Pray for us, join us, as we seek to glorify God through a disciple-making movement powered by the gospel.
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