The Blog

CHBC Connect for October 4, 2024

The Purpose, the Mission, and The Vision of CHBC:

Capitol Hill Baptist Church has a clearly defined purpose – the glory of God. We do not decide what the purpose of our existence is. This rolls through the Bible like a never-ending thunder. Hear it from Isaiah 43:6-7,

“I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring My sons from afar
And My daughters from the ends of the earth,
Everyone who is called by My name,
And whom I have created for My glory,
Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

Every person is created for God’s glory. The church is His work in our world where His glory is to be explicitly on display as those He redeemed to the praise of the glory of His grace (Eph. 1:6), proclaim His excellencies from the Bible to equip believers to extend the gospel so that others see His glory and worship Him.

That purpose sets the trajectory of the mission of every church. The local church is a combination outpost and hospital in its context. A people who had been beaten and broken by a world system in the hands of the deceiver, the Devil, have been rescued by the good news of God’s redeeming love. Those redeemed and empowered believers then become warriors advancing the Kingdom of God’s grace against the gates of Hades which will not prevail (Matt.16:18).

Because of the clarity of this mission the church of Jesus Christ must take seriously the work of equipping every believer in the truth of the Scripture, and in the knowledge of God’s Spirit-empowered work. The church must value in its personal and public life the high exaltation of Jesus Christ, her Lord, her Savior, her Bridegroom, her Living Bread, her hope, and her coming King. The church must love the world that God has created so much that she will not stop spreading the gospel as far and wide as her reach will allow until He returns to rule and reign with all who have claimed Him as Lord.

Does the pursuing of the purpose sound idyllic? Afterall most of our day is taken up with diapers, disease, driving, and duties.

Well, the vision of the church, or what I like to call our vision of a preferred future is this: Every member of CHBC is developing into a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ who is living by the Great Commandment (Matt. 22:36-40) and fulfilling the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20).

As we live our lives, we are doing so with a Godward focus. Loving Him with our whole being and using every opportunity to make disciples. Discipling those babies we diaper, preaching hope to those as they suffer, having intentional conversations on every drive, and using the daily duties of our lives as a platform to show and speak of the grace God has given us.

Living out the preferred vision is not extricating ourselves out of the world but interjecting ourselves into the world as the hands and feet of Jesus. FYI, the enemy hates this and will throw every distraction and every temptation our way as we pursue the purpose, mission, and vision of God. Make no mistake. He does not care if you diaper babies, fight hard against the diseases of this world, drive yourself and your children to jobs and sports and all over the place, or if you approach the duties of your life with passion and joy. He only cares that you do those things for the purpose of making Christ known. So, if you purpose in your heart to do everything for God’s glory then expect the enemy to work against you at every turn. 

Your brothers and sisters are at war with you. They are being attacked and tempted even now to make those daily things nothing more than tasks to get done, rather than gospel activities. Read your Bible and pray for one another right now. Then show up on Sunday to celebrate the victories, share the wounds of the week, and encourage one another to go again into their world who so desperately needs them to walk as Jesus among them, whether those in the world know they need Him or want Him.

By His Grace and For His Glory,

Pastor Mark

CHBC Connect for September 27, 2024

Three Purposes of CHBC:
3 Purposes of Ministry to Fulfill the Mission of the Church:

My articles in the last two newsletters have been to define the Piers and Pillars of CHBC. Sitting atop the foundations of the church, and the convictions of our local church, is the mission for which we exist. The ultimate purpose of all people, all churches, and all of creation is the glory of God. To fulfill the ultimate purpose, the church must function according to God’s design.

God has established the church in His wisdom. Ephesians 3:8-11 tells us,

“To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,”

For His wisdom to be seen, the church must do what it does according to His word. Many churches choose their ministries, plan their worship service, and craft their strategies to display how creative the pastor is, how innovative the leadership team can be, or how relevant the church is to the community’s felt needs.

These techniques might draw crowds, but they do not build churches. The argument is usually made that once we have drawn a crowd then we can begin doing the real work of evangelizing those in the crowd, discipling those who decide follow Jesus, and then getting them involved in helping us do more ministry to the crowd. The problem is that we do not see that pattern in Scripture.

The people of God in the Old Testament were called out from the other nations and were to be a blessing to the nations by their single-hearted devotion to God, His laws, and His ways. Jesus came to the world, but His distinctive nature was one of holiness in the world in which He ministered. The apostles were sent out to establish churches, outposts of God’s Kingdom, among the world, not centers of entertainment to the culture.

Christian, we are not called to avoid the culture, but we are also not called to attempt the entertain the culture into thinking Jesus is cool. We are called to employ the method of God and the strategy of Jesus. We are called to be holy as He is holy, and to bless our friends, family, and community by being committed to God, His Word, His will, and His commands. We know, Biblically, that the world is best when it is influenced by godliness, not when godliness gives way to cultural norms.

God established the means of worship, disciple-making, and evangelism as the strategy of the church. The people of God gathered to worship, connected in community for making disciples, and sent into the world to share the good news of Christ, are the three purposes of ministry to fulfill the mission of God. CHBC states those purposes as existing to Equip Believers, Exalt Christ, and Extend the Gospel.

This is why we make this our mission. We are attempting to be obedient to Christ’s commands, to work within the framework of God’s wisdom, and to love our neighbor as ourselves by following God’s design for the church, rather than a method of marketing strategy. We are joining God in building a church, not drawing a crowd.

By His Grace and For His Glory,

Pastor Mark