A Message from our Pastor
Prior to the ascension of our resurrected Lord, He met with His disciples and commissioned them to carry on the work of His church. He did not just hand the keys to the Kingdom to them but along with those keys there was a set of instructions concerning “what” they were to be doing and the “how” to do it until He returns. That commission is found in Matthew 28:18-20. It reads as follows: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Herein lies the entire “Philosophy” of Ministry for His entire Church for all ages. We find that the Lord commissions the church with 3 particular entities that are to be utilized together as the entire “package” for the church.
Entity #1: Evangelization: (Go ye) That the church is to propagate the gospel of Christ that those in the world may hear and be converted unto salvation.
Entity #2: Assimilation: (Baptism for converts) Bringing converts into the assembly and becoming a part of the community of believers.
Entity #3: Education: (Teaching them to observe) This is accomplished by the ministering of the Word of God in the local assembly and is to be a continual endeavor.
Now note that it is not either or that depicts the commission but rather all three are to be done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and His church.
I pray that every endeavor of Faithway will be under this philosophical umbrella and that we will always seek to obey the Lord. What a joy it is to know that the functions of the church were not left to the plots and schemes or gimmicks of man! We don’t have to draw a large crowd or attempt to entertain, just simply obey the Lord. We weren’t commissioned to “fit” but we were commissioned to “minister” the Word of God. I rest with this thought in mind.
– Pastor James R. Bledsoe