“Our mission means our committed participation as God’s people, at God’s invitation and command, in God’s own mission within the history of God’s world for the redemption of God’s creation.”
We Are Sent on God's Mission
For a follower of Jesus, the topic of mission is not primarily centered on what we do as much as who we are. It is a question not of task, but of identity. Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21). This sending is something that defines us as Christians. James Hunter says in his book To Change the World: “Formation is about living the alternative realities of the kingdom of God in the present world order faithfully.” Our very identity is that we are “sent” people. We realize that God has placed us in a neighborhood, in a family, in a workplace, in a social sphere–to bear His name and allow his blessing to flow through us for the sake of others.
At Via Church, we recognize that God is ‘on mission’ in this world. His Mission is to restore the creation. He has given us a preview of this restoration in Jesus’ resurrection and has deposited the guarantee of this restoration in us through his Spirit. We are a people who join God in and are sent by God for His Mission to the world.