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Yesterday we started a discussion of the statement we feel best captures the essence of our mission.  Today is part 2 in a series where we’ll look at the statement, and our mission, in depth…

We want to build a church that unchurched people love to attend.

Since day 1 of RPC we’ve existed to do just that.  And while we’ve said it in a lot of different ways, the core value behind that statement has remained consistent.

The first thing to notice about this statement is what we’re building: a church.  We’re not building a club or a benevolent non-profit.  We’re building a place where sinners (that’s all of us) can intersect with a loving, holy God.  And we believe that when that happens, no one walks away unchanged.

To be sure, the church is both an organization (which requires structure and leadership) and an organism (which is living and requires the breath of God to sustain it).  Because we’re building a CHURCH, several things must be true:

• There are some things we’ll never compromise. The church was God’s idea – not ours – so its parameters and core vision must come from him.  And once we discover, through scripture, what those core values are we can never let go of them.  Above all we must look to God and his word for the direction and light to move forward.
• Being unoffensive is not our primary concern. We’ll discuss this more later, but we can’t try to deliver an unoffensive message because scripture tells us we can’t.  People are going to stumble over Jesus, and like the rich young ruler many will walk away disappointed at the high price of following him.
• We must be decisive. When Christ taught he repeatedly gave clear and concise invitations for people to follow him.  The only way people are going to commit their hearts & lives to Christ is if they are challenged to do so.  We believe in giving people the space to explore and discover who God is, but at some point you just have to jump in with both feet.  That’s why it’s called faith.

In our current series, Vintage, we’re discussing in greater detail some of the things we’ll never let go of, no matter what.  Because for us, they’ll never go out of style.

The local church is the hope of the world.  It’s the only organization that Jesus promised to build AND make successful. And as long as we’re following his lead and listening to his voice, we get the opportunity to change someone’s eternity.