Live the Mission | CrossPointe

¹⁸Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
¹⁹ “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:18-20)

These teams lead us in Living the Mission:
Outreach Team
Mission Team

Outreach Team

“…He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”
(2 Corinthians 5:19)

We have a burning desire to live the mission by making disciples locally through much prayer while loving, serving and sharing the good news

Our Outreach Strategy

A. PRAY
because we are powerless to bring life into a spiritually dead person.
¹And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
²in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
³Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
⁴But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions,
⁵made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved ),
(Ephesians 2:1-5)

B. PRAYERFULLY LOVE, SERVE, and SHARE
Love by spending time with and genuinely caring about the welfare of each lost individual.
¹I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart.
²For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh,
(Romans 9:2-3)

Serve by meeting needs. Love is known by the sacrifice it makes.
⁹And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.
¹⁰So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
(Galatians 6:9-10)

Share by offering the gospel, a testimony or an invitation to a gathering or event.
⁸Jesus said,“You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
(Acts 1:8)

³But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.
⁴Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.
(Acts 8:3-4)

C. PRAY
Even Paul requested prayer,
¹⁹“Pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,
(Ephesians 6:19)
Because,
¹²“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
(Ephesians 6:12)

We invite you to join us in living this strategy together during these opportunities:

Life Group events

Service projects in the community

Sporting events (from fishing to softball and lots in between)

Serving and being a witness with us during community events

Serving small businesses though our Business Emergency Assistance Team

Doors, streets, beaches, piers, and bars outreach

Children’s Outreach (Wednesday Night BLAST, VBS, Surf Camp and more!)

Check our calendar and/or contact us about any opportunities which interest you.

We invite you to join our Outreach Team (though you can be involved without being on the team). The outreach team plans, organizes and oversees outreach opportunities and trainings.

We offer training in how to share the gospel and in how to give evidence for the gospel (apologetics). Please contact us for ways you can begin.

Some Guiding Scriptures

¹⁷From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
(Matthew 4:17)

³²“Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.
³³“But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
³⁴“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
³⁵“For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
³⁶and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.
(Matthew 10:32-36)

¹⁸And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
¹⁹“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
²⁰teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:18-20)

²⁶and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. “You are witnesses of these things.
(Luke 24:26)

²¹Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
(John 20:21)

²⁴“But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, in order that I may finish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.
(Acts 20:24)

²²…I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some.
²³And I do all things for the sake of the gospel…
(1 Corinthians 9:22-23)

⁸Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.
(1 Thessalonians 2:8)

Mission Team

The Missions Team has both a North American focus and an International focus.

North American Missions Focus

The North American focus educates and guides the church in supporting disciple making and church planting in North America and the Caribbean.
Goals:
a. Educate and inspire the church regarding missions
b. Raise up missionaries
c. Raise financial and prayer support for missionaries and ministries
d. Determine who we financially and relationally support
e. Organize short term mission trips

As an example to us, Paul commends the witness of the church in Thessalonica to their area of the world,
⁷“The word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia,
⁸but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth…”
(1 Thessalonians 1:7-8)

International Missions Focus

The International Mission focus educates and guides the church in supporting disciple making and church planting among every people group beyond North America.
Goals:
a. Educate and inspire the church regarding missions
b. Raise up missionaries
c. Raise financial and prayer support for missionaries and ministries
d. Determine who we financially and relationally support
e. Organize short term mission trips

¹⁸Jesus came up and spoke to them (His disciples), saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
²⁰teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age”
(Matthew 28:18-20)

Our international focus is on disciple making and church planting among every people group in the world. A “people group” is a group of people who have a common language and culture. We believe this is what Jesus was referring to when He gave us the mission:

The word translated “nations” is “ethna” from which we get the concept of “ethnic group” or “people group.”

Someone has to learn a new language and culture to be able to share the good news, make disciples and plant churches among a people group that has no Christians. Our missionary priority is to support this person and others like him.

An “unreached people group” refers to a people group which has less than 2% of its people trusting Jesus as Savior and Lord. These believers probably need help in reaching the rest of their group, planting churches and training leaders.

An “unengaged people group” is an unreached people group which has no known church or church planters (no one is “engaging” them with the gospel).

Note: “Unreached” and “unengaged” are not terms in the Bible but they help us communicate regarding the mission.

The Joshua Project is a research network, “seeking to highlight the ethnic people groups with the fewest followers of Jesus Christ.” It is probably the most used network among missionaries. The Joshua Project reported these numbers for 2019:

Total People Groups: 17,043

Unreached People Groups: 7,078

The International Mission Board reports:
Unengaged People Groups: 3,165

Jesus is serious about us reaching every one of these groups.

¹⁴“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations (ethna), and then the end will come.”
(Matthew 24:14)

Most of these unreached and unengaged peoples are in hard to enter countries where missionaries have difficulty living and working and the new believers are persecuted, ostracized or even killed.

Our missionaries report far better numeric results among reached people groups. However, among people who already have churches, the national Christians have opportunities to plant more churches among their own people. We are under Jesus’ orders to reach every people group, no matter how dangerous. (Matthew 10:16-42)

We want to equip and empower the churches among the reached people groups, but our focus is on the unengaged and unreached.

Note: Current statistics indicate that more than 90% of all missionary personnel and resources from churches around the world are focused on the reached people groups. Is this in tune with the heart of Jesus?

There are a lot of needs right around us, but from heaven’s perspective the greatest need is for unengaged people groups to have the light of the gospel, biblical churches to be planted, biblical leaders to be raised up and for their members to be supported as they face persecution.

God’s heart and plan for the reaching of unengaged people groups as a priority

¹Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you;
²And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing;
³And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
(Genesis 12:1-3) (Note the account of Babel in Genesis11:1-9)

⁶Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.
⁷Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.
⁸ And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations shall be blessed in you.”
⁹So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
¹⁰For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.”
(Galatians 3:6-10)

⁹Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.
¹⁰‘Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
(Matthew 6:9-10)

¹⁶Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves.
¹⁷But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to the courts, and scourge you in their synagogues;
¹⁸and you shall even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.
(Matthew 10:16-18)

³³He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all leavened.”
(Matthew 13:33)

⁹Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name.
¹⁰And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up one another and hate one another.
¹¹And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many.
¹²And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.
¹³But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.
¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.
(Matthew 24:9-14)

¹⁸And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
²⁰teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:18-20)

⁴⁶and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day;
⁴⁷ and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things.
⁴⁹And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
(Luke 24:46-49)

¹⁶For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
(John 3:16)

⁸but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.
(Acts 1:8) Also see Acts 2:1-17

⁴⁴And the next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of God.
⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming.
⁴⁶And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.
⁴⁷“For thus the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles, That You should bring salvation to the end of the earth.'”
⁴⁸And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
⁴⁹And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region.
⁵⁰But the Jews aroused the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district.
⁵¹But they shook off the dust of their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.
⁵²And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
(Acts 13:44-52)

³⁰Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent,
³¹because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.
(Acts 17:30-31)

²⁵For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in;
²⁶and thus all Israel will be saved;
(Romans 11:25-26)

²⁰And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, that I might not build upon another man’s foundation;
²¹but as it is written, “They who had no news of Him shall see, And they who have not heard shall understand.”
²²For this reason I have often been hindered from coming to you;
²³but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you
²⁴whenever I go to Spain– for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while–
²⁵but now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints.
²⁶For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.
(Romans 15:20-26)

¹First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,
²for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
³This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
⁴who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
(1 Timothy 2:1-4)

¹⁷But the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me, in order that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the lion’s mouth.
(2 Timothy 4:17)

⁸…the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
⁹And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
(Revelation 5:8-9)

⁹After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;
¹⁰and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
(Revelation 7:9-10)

³And they sang the song of Moses the bond-servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are Thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations.
⁴ Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou alone art holy; For all the nations will come and worship before Thee, For Thy righteous acts have been revealed.
(Revelation 15:3-4)

Biblical guidelines governing which missionaries and missionary organizations we support

Because we are charged with and will give an account for being stewards of the gospel, personnel and finance we will attempt to follow these biblical guidelines as we consider the support of missionaries and missionary organizations:

1. We pray and fast before sending and supporting missionaries. (Acts 13:1)

2. Missionaries should be doctrinally compatible with the Lausanne Covenant in belief and practice.

3. Missionaries should be sent out by and work in unity with a local church from their home country (all the examples in Acts).

4. Missionaries should be team players working well with other doctrinally compatible missionaries and local churches (all the examples in Acts).

5. Missionaries and their organizations should be focused on making and growing disciples and churches. They may be involved in many types of ministries to their community (feeding the poor, water projects, medical, orphanages, etc) but the focus of all is to make disciples and plant and grow local churches (Matthew 28:18-20 and all the examples in Acts).

6. Missionaries should be focused on planting and growing indigenous churches. These churches (and their ministries) should, in time, be self governing, self supporting and self propagating (all the examples in Acts).

7. Our priority and the majority of our financial support should go to church planting among unengaged people groups. We realize much larger conversion numbers can be reported by missionaries in reached areas but fulfilling the great commission to reach all people groups takes precedent (see God’s heart and plan for the reaching of unengaged people groups as a priority below).

8. Missionaries and missionary organizations should practice good stewardship, accounting, transparency and accountability regarding monies entrusted to them.

Biblical guidelines governing short term missionary endeavors

Because short term missions is largely about discipling our members and because we want to support works that are the most biblical, we will attempt to send our members where they can best learn and support missions which are living these biblical principles:

1. We pray and fast before sending and supporting missionaries. (Acts 13:1)

2. The missionaries should be doctrinally compatible with the Lausanne Covenant in belief and practice.

3. The missionaries should be sent out by and work in unity with a local church from their home country (all the examples in Acts).

4. The missionaries should be team players working well with other doctrinally compatible missionaries and local churches (all the examples in Acts).

5. The missionaries and their organizations should be focused on making and growing disciples and churches. They may be involved in many types of ministries to their community (feeding the poor, water projects, medical, orphanages, etc) but the focus of all is to make disciples and plant and grow local churches (Matthew 28:18-20 and all the examples in Acts).

6. The missionaries should be focused on planting and growing indigenous churches. These churches (and their ministries) should, in time, be self governing, self supporting and self propagating (all the examples in Acts).

7. Though our priority is to support church planting among unengaged people groups due to logistics and costs we believe it may be better stewardship to do much of our short term work in this region of the world.

8. The missionaries and missionary organizations should practice good stewardship, accounting, transparency and accountability regarding monies entrusted to them.