The Bible is clear about the purpose of the Church. Jesus is clear that the mission of the church is to "make disciples." The Church is the place where we are called to follow Christ. The Church is the place where we learn what it means to follow Christ. The Bible guides us in our mission and in our message. The risen Christ said to his followers: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8, NRSV). Our discipleship is not for ourselves alone. It is intended to impact and benefit the world around us.

United Methodists also have another book that guides them in their thinking about the purpose and organization of the local church. This book is called The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church.

This book ‹ the basic plan of organization and action for the local church ‹ gets revised every 4 years by the General Conference. It will be revised again this year as General Conference meets again this year in Fort Worth, Texas, April 23- May 2. The Discipline of the United Methodist Church is very clear in giving us direction about the mission and ministry of the local church.

The relevant portions of the Discipline are Part III (all of it!) and Part V Chapter 1.

Here we find direction and challenge in our life together, as followers of Jesus Christ. We are not left in any doubt about what we ought to be doing.

1. The purpose of the Church is to make disciples for Jesus Christ.

"The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ by proclaiming the good news of God's grace and by exemplifying Jesus' command to love God and neighbor, thus seeking the fulfillment of God's reign and realm in the world. The fulfillment of God's reign and realm in the world is the vision Scripture holds before us. The United Methodist Church affirms that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior of the world, and the Lord of all. As we make disciples, we respect persons of all religious faiths and we defend religious freedom for all persons. Jesus' words in Matthew provide the Church with our mission: "Go therefore 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 that I have commanded you" (28:19-20), and "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind .... And you shall love your neighbor as yourself: (22:37, 39).²

‹ The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church (2004) page 87.

2. A clear sense of this mission is necessary to the vitality of the Church.

"Whenever United Methodism has had a clear sense of mission, God has used our Church to save persons, heal relationships, transform social structures, and spread scriptural holiness, thereby changing the world. In order to be truly alive, we embrace Jesus' mandate to make disciples of all peoples."

‹ The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church (2004) page 88.

Gospel of Christ, lead people to commit their lives to Christ (through baptism & profession of faith), nurture people in the faith, and send people into the world to love and serve and witness and continue the mission of seeking, welcoming and gathering.

"We make disciples as we: € proclaim the gospel, seek, welcome and gather persons into the body of Christ; € lead persons to commit their lives to God through Jesus Christ; € nurture persons in Christian living through worship, baptism, communion, Bible and other studies, prayer, and other means of grace; € send persons into the world to live lovingly and justly as servants of Christ by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, caring for the stranger, freeing the oppressed, and working to have social structures consistent with the gospel; and € continue the mission of seeking, welcoming and gathering persons into the community of the body of Christ."

‹ The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church (2004) page 88.

"The local church is a connectional society of persons who have been baptized, have professed their faith in Christ, and have assumed the vows of membership in The United Methodist Church. They gather in fellowship to hear the Word of God, receive the sacraments, praise and worship the triune God, and carry forward the work that Christ has committed to his church. Such a society of believers, being within The United Methodist Church and subject to its Discipline, is also an inherent part of the church universal, which is composed of all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and which in the Apostles' Creed we declare to be the holy catholic church."

‹ The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church (2004) page 128.

"The function of the local church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is to help people to accept and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and to live their daily lives in the light of their relationship with God."

‹ The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church (2004) page 127.

4. The ministry of the Church is a mutual ministry ‹ with clergy and lay people working together in cooperation and mutual support.

"There is but one ministry in Christ, but there are diverse gifts and evidences of God's grace in the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:4-16). The ministry of all Christians is complementary. No ministry is subservient to another. All United Methodists are summoned and sent by Christ to live and work together in mutual interdependence and to be guided by the Spirit into the truth that frees and the love that reconciles."

‹ The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church (1996) page 90.

5. The Church of Jesus Christ cannot evade or delegate its task.

"The people of God, who are the church made visible in the world, must convince the world of the reality of the gospel or leave it unconvinced. There can be no evasion or delegation of this responsibility; the church is either faithful as a witnessing and serving community, or it loses its vitality and its impact on an unbelieving world."

‹ The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church (2004) page 90.

May God grant us the grace and courage to fulfill the mission to which we are called!

Craig L. Adams