We believe that God is active in our world and is working to bring about the redemption and restoration of His Creation, foremost to reconcile to himself all those who will call upon the name of the Lord. This is God's missio Dei. This Latin phrase, missio Dei, means "the mission or sending of God" and points to God’s great love for the world as the Creator himself became “God with us” entering time and space in the person of Jesus Christ to redeem fallen humanity (John 3:16,17).
Jesus came “full of grace and truth” (John 1:17) announcing the good news of the kingdom of God and healing the broken and bruised. He most fully expressed God’s amazing grace and covenant love as “he gave himself for us” through his death and resurrection (Titus 2:14). As the Father sent the Son so Jesus sent his Church into the world (John 20:21). This “sending” of Jesus establishes the church's fundamental character and existence as God's missionary people. Biblically then, this reality is the foundation for Jackson Avenue Church’s adventure and exploration in living as God's "sent people" in the neighborhoods and cities in which we live.We purposely seek to join with God in his mission.
To live this way is a pilgrimage requiring both spiritual passion and wise discernment. Based on the passage in Mark's Gospel (Mark 12:29-31) in which Jesus roots discipleship in the Torah (Duet 6:4,5; Lev. 19:18), we intend our corporate life together to be centered in love for God (abiding in Christ) and love for our neighbor (working for the good of others). We aim to be a people who are a sign and foretaste of God’s kingdom reign. Simply put, we intend to be known by our love, service, and what we are for not what we are against. We must earn the right to be heard in a world that looks at the church with suspicion, skepticism, and often, with scorn.
These purposes put us on a journey of discovery and transformation that will demand learning new ways of being "Jesus followers" while at same time ridding ourselves of old ideas we've had about church life (being a passive consumers of religious goods and services vended by clergy professionals). We don’t intend to be an audience watching people “at the front do their thing.” Jesus doesn’t call a few leaders but the whole church to God’s mission. Each of us must seek to live as a faithful presence in all the wonder and ordinariness of everyday life. We are disciples, not religious consumers.
