Salem Mennonite Church
Experiencing New Life on a Journey with Jesus
Statement of Purpose
We recognize our responsibility in giving glory to God by following Jesus and representing Christ to the world according to the following scriptures:
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Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
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Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
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Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
God calls us to cooperate in being transformed into the likeness of Christ with ever increasing glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). As our glory increases, we recognize it is not our glory but the glory of God in the face of Christ shining through our lives (2 Corinthians 4:1-12). As a result, God’s grace is reaching more and more people and God is being glorified (2 Corinthians 4:15). We acknowledge our responsibility to share Christ and His transforming power with and in the communities and people around us.
Vision and Mission Statements
Vision:
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Experiencing new life on a journey with Jesus.
Mission:
We at Salem Mennonite Church, a community of followers of Jesus, are on a journey intentionally pursuing God (Jeremiah 29:11). God is currently moving and calling us closer to Him through prayer, confession, worship, serving the poor, and sharing the gospel. He is also calling us to be released from bondages, fears and bad habits. God continues to call us to accept people as they are and invite them along on a journey with Jesus. As followers of Christ we desire to cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s rule in our lives. God desires us to be a people who include Him in all areas of our lives and our life together. Along with Thomas we confess that Jesus is, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). We desire the Lordship of Christ to be evident in each of our lives and in our congregational life together. As God has brought people to us the Pastoral Care Team (from here on referred to as PCT) has recognized the need to have ministry teams to receive them. For example this would include a ministry team to receive the efforts of the evangelists. This team may include people with a variety of gifts such as teaching/discipleship, encouragement, service, prayer/intercession, and others. Other ministry teams may be formed to receive and minister to the disadvantaged, help people to understand and use their gifts, prepare for the future needs of the congregation, for expressing hospitality, and to meet others needs and challenges God brings to us. We recognize God is working to bring out gifts in our people and the people He is sending to us to join these ministry teams and the other ministries of the church. We also recognize God is working to reveal the leadership gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher (Ephesians 4:11).