Pastor Patrick’s Perspective: March 2024

“And [Jesus] said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’” (Luke 10:2 ESV)

In the Gospel, Christ Himself promises the remission of sins, justification, and life eternal. This is indeed good news. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus instructs his disciples that they need to share the Gospel, for it is the word the world needs to hear. Your mission, and mine, is to share the good news of Jesus Christ.

Being Mission-Driven is a core value of the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). Peace Lutheran affirm all four core values. We list them on the front of our bulletins every week. Those values are: Christ Centered, Mission Driven, Traditionally Grounded, and Congregationally Focused. And what do we mean by Mission Driven?

The NALC defines Mission Driven as: “We believe that the mission of the Church is to preach the Gospel and to make disciples for Christ. We believe that making disciples — in our congregations, in our communities and nations, and around the world — must be a priority of the Church in the present age.”

Being Mission-Driven means caring about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel actually makes the the church. Our confessions teach, “The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.”

I tend to think of the church working along two dimensions. There are two things we provide: physical needs and spiritual needs (the Gospel). There are two places we provide them: inwardly and outwardly. The mission statement actually provides four levels: the congregation, the community, the nation, and internationally.

The physical and spiritual provision of the congregational is the primary work of Peace Lutheran. Yet, we should care about the others too. The NALC vision calls for every congregation, small or large, to have an active, intentional relationship supporting: local community ministry, national ministry, and international ministry.

I am excited that Peace Lutheran cares about being Mission-Driven. Peace Lutheran provides the gospel to her members every week through Word and Sacrament. Every month, Peace supports Rockdale Christian Service, a local ministry. Further, we have just made a plan to start supporting national and international missions.

The world needs the gospel. The Gospel is God’s promise of Jesus Christ. Pray that the Gospel of Jesus will reach Rockdale, the United States, and the entire World.