What’s in a Church Mission Statement?

Hills Bible Church is a very young church. We started planning in February 2009. Commencing in May of that year, a small group of men and women began meeting in private homes to worship and in November of the same year, having outgrown private homes, we commenced worship in our current location.

One of the primary reasons Hills Bible Church came into being was our concern over the tendency in many churches to accept a fairly low level of Biblical literacy. Though many church programs covered a wide range of interests, the theological knowledge of their members was minimal. Bible teaching was poor to non-existant and many churches were more concerned with social justice than they were the gospel.

Hills Bible Church was founded in an effort to counteract this trend. Our Mission Statement summarises this well. It appears under our blog Masthead (above) and is elaborated below.

Our Mission is- To see that believers:

KNOW God’s Word (2 Timothy 2:15)

LIVE by God’s Word (1 Peter 1:22-2:3)

COMMIT to God’s work (Rom. 12:1-2)

IMPACT God’s world (Matt. 28:18-20)

KNOW
It is only through knowing God’s Word that we find out who God is, the nature of His character, the design and extent of His creation, the origin of man, the source and consequences of sin, and God’s plan of salvation. In fact, the Bible is the primary source of our knowledge about God. At Hills Bible Church we believe that the Scripture, as originally revealed, is God’s inspired Word sufficient for all things necessary to life and faith.

LIVE
Knowing God’s Word is necessary as a starting point, but putting God’s Word into practice, as Jesus reminds his listeners in Matthew 7:24, is essential in Christian living. In certain instances the Bible gives direct instructions to follow; other life circumstances are covered by clear biblical principles for us to apply. At Hills Bible Church, we take seriously that the Bible is God’s handbook for living.

COMMIT
Committing to God’s Work means firstly committing ourselves to Him, conforming to what God wants and allowing God to transform our character, shape the way we live and influence our priorities. It’s through our perseverance in obedience to God that He matures and refines our character.

IMPACT
The Great Commission, as recorded in Matthew 28: 18 – 20, is a mandate that is integral to the Mission of Hills Bible Church. Our heart’s desire is for people to come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour, whether that be in our local community, the wider city of Melbourne, the State of Victoria, the nation of Australia or the wider world. However, the injunction goes further with the command to make disciples. At Hills Bible Church we believe that this mandate underlines the importance of teaching God’s Word to believers, mentoring them to understand the full implications of the Gospel in their lives and in turn, the importance of discipling those whom God has called to faith. In fact, one becomes a disciple when one becomes a disciple-maker.

Thus the cycle continues – knowing – living – committing – impacting.